The Gemini Movement
by reyin poetic
Summary: All of the girls wish that Keitaro would change, but what if he did? How far will they go to turn him back? What if there's no going back? Dark, OOC's, and strong themes later.
1. Prologue

I will say it precisely once. The only thing I own is the plot and the OC's. The rest belongs to their original owners.

The Gemini Movement

Prologue: Single Pain

"Keitaro you perv!"

"I'm sorry!"

CRASH

...

"Hiya, Keikei!"

WHAM

...

"Die, Urashima!"

"Waaah!"

BOOM

...

"Ah, just another day in paradise, eh guys?" Mitsune "Kitsune" Konno leaned back on the couch in the Hinata-sou's living room, sipping a tall bottle of sake, her drink of choice in the afternoon. And night. And pretty much any time of the day. The fox woman certainly had a relaxed view on life, but if something riled her up, anyone in her way would forever regret it, no matter how nice she was to look at.

"Motoko and Naru have been putting more into their strikes lately!" Su commented. "The data from those attacks and Keitaro are going to help a lot with my latest invention!"

"What invention, Su?" asked Kitsune.

"A mecha-tama able to withstand any attack, and punch through any other armor in existence!" exclaimed the hyperactive mastermind. "It'll be my greatest creation yet! It'll have a micro-fusion power source, guns powered by magnets called Gauss guns, and banana holders!"

Kitsune sweat-dropped. "Don't you mean cup holders?"

Su struck up a perplexed pose. "Huh, why would you want a drink in the Battle-Tama Mk. 8?"

"Oh, I don't know," Kitsune eyed her sake slyly.

Kaolla Su, the resident monkey – slash – evil genius of the group, was an infinite source of energy among them. Aside from her skill in creating machines that most countries would pay any price for, she was also extremely hyperactive, and would most certainly ask the aforementioned country to pay for her technology in bananas.

"Aaaah! I'm sorry!" The only male resident of the dorm screamed from the entryway.

"Sounds like Keitaro's tripped and grabbed Naru's skirt again!" Kitsune brightened up.

"No, he already did that today! I think he fell on Motoko." Su argued.

The fox and the banana-obsessed maniac chattered away while watching Naru arrive on scene, proving Su right. Her hair matching the angry hue her face had taken.

Keitaro Urashima was the manager of the girl's dorms, and , being poor, their fellow resident. The girls all admired his dream of getting into Tokyo University a.k.a. Toudai, but he had a clumsy streak that could be used to tie the entire solar system together. Twice. His tendency to trip and fall onto the nearest female had brought up whether or not they were genuine accidents, but his gentlemanly nature keeps the ruling in his favor.

Naru Narusegawa, Keitaro's friend and study-buddy, was the matron mother of the girls. Despite being younger than Kitsune, she was arguably more responsible, and sober. The thing was, that defensiveness often led to her pushing, or rather punching, Keitaro away. Mostly at high speeds.

"Ohh, sempai..." The small girl sitting next to the fox girl hugged her knees to her chest and let her cerulean fringe shield her eyes from yet another of the heartbreaking sights unfolding in front of her.

Keitaro makes an innocent mistake. Naru and Motoko take offense. Naru and Motoko send Keitaro through the ozone layer. Keitaro apologizes. Lather, rinse, and repeat. Take five and call me in the morning.

The Shinobu Maehara everyone else knew was a reserved little girl who was a great cook and had the crush to end all crushes on Keitaro. Not that he knew. The rest of Hina-House would never suspect that sweet, shy little Shinobu could have a very dark sense of humor sometimes. Watching your beloved bounced around like a volleyball tends to do that to you.

"Damn that pervert!" Naru growled as she walked back toward the group, dusting off her knuckles, "Can't he go one day without groping us?"

"Past occurrence would say no, even when the best excuse he can come up with was tripping on the rug," the swords-woman frostily chimed in.

Motoko Aoyama was as proud as they get. Mind you, she earned it. She was the heir to the Shinmei-ryu clan of sword-masters, meaning that she knew more ways to cut off your fingers than you have fingers to count them with. She also had a deep-seated hatred for males, and an even deeper fear of turtles. She seemed much more put together than her recent situation would suggest, her waist-length black hair flawless, as always, and her face as cold as her voice. "He doesn't even have enough shame to forge a better excuse!"

"Oh, so you would rather he did?" Kitsune graced Motoko with a fully opened eye, blatantly eying her reaction. She was not disappointed.

"Wh-wa-wa?" Motoko did her best Shinobu impression, waving her arms blindly as her eyes swirled over her crimson face.

"Kitsune, don't say that! He molests you just as much as Motoko and I!" Naru admonished.

"Well, apparently he isn't so bad, seeing as he can excite some very interesting reactions," she looked at Motoko, "from some of our number," her head tilted toward Shinobu, who joined Motoko in her embarrassed flailing, "at Hinata-sou." she looked back to Naru.

"Whatever, he can go to hell. Maybe one day Motoko and I'll hit him so hard, he'll never come back!" she grinned.

Kitsune shook her head in disbelief "Y'know, I feel sorry for him sometimes. You know how hard he's fallen for you." Kitsune said.

At that point, the dorm's turtle mascot, Tama-chan glided into the room, settling on Motoko's head, bringing about a moment of silence as everyone looked at the recently recovered Motoko.

"UWAAA!" Motoko lost all composure again as her fear of turtles sent her into complete panic, giving everyone present a rather entertaining sideshow for several minutes.

-Except Naru, who took the opportunity to slip away to her room.

...

Liddo-kun stared at his normal sitting place with his owner as the wet tears on the top of his head sank in. He folded over some more as he was hugged harder, her quiet sobs of regret muffled in the back of his head.

...

Keitaro tumbled through the air for several seconds. When the spinning stopped, he looked back to see Hinata-sou was almost gone from view.

"Their range is improving..." Keitaro muttered to himself. Ronin though he was, he had plenty of experience in judging speed and distance, and this was definitely a new record for the deadly Wind Blade / Naru Punch Combo. Su was going to want the details for her ongoing records of the pair's punishments.

"Let's see where I'm landing this time," he thought, and extended his arm to turn himself around, shortly before his head slammed into the steel support of a bridge.

All turned black.


	2. Chapter 1

The Gemini Movement

Chapter 1: Single Path

Keitaro was floating in clear blue water. Over him, vast islands of cumulus clouds sailed by, their reflections dancing a gentle waltz in the serene ocean surrounding him. As one cloud sailed by, a warm light kissed Keitaro's face, the muted light of the sun giving the water a shimmering of stars. It created the feel of the shining midday sky above, and a glittering night sky below. Everything was very peaceful, from the gentle rolling of the waves beneath him to the simple feeling of carefree contentment everywhere.

"Wow, what is this place? I could stay here forever..." Keitaro closed his eyes and let the rocking of the waves carry him away.

The warmth of the sun as his blanket, he rested for hours, when he noticed that his blanket had become much warmer. He opened his eyes and screamed in pain from the burning on his right side.

He was suspended in between two infinite terrors. By instinct he looked to his right and saw a wall of hellfire, raging and thrashing as it swiped at his side, whipping pure, screaming, pain into his flesh. The blaze's light seared his eyes, causing him to quickly look away to his left. But what he saw there was what scared him the most.

...

Shinobu sat at the edge of Hinata-sou's roof, watching over the steps that led up to the inn. Keitaro still hadn't returned from his unwanted trip, and the meal she had cooked had gone cold, assuming Su hadn't eaten it when she wasn't looking. It wouldn't matter, she would make him a fresh dinner when he got back.

"There you are Shinobu! We haven't seen you for hours!"

Shinobu turned to see someone she was less than happy with at the moment.

"Sorry, Naru, I've just been waiting for sempai. He wasn't at dinner, so I got worried."

"Yeah, he made us wait an hour 'til we finally just gave up on him," the red-head frowned. "That idiot probably forgot the way home..."

Or you and the kendo witch managed to cut sempai's legs off and he's suffering in a ditch somewhere. Don't you bitches realize that even though he's immortal, he can still feel? Shinobu said...

To herself. Out loud she said, "I hope he's okay."

"Yeah, I guess," grumbled Naru. "Anyway, you want to come to the springs? The others are waiting,"

"No, thank you," Shinobu turned back to look over the stairs, "I'll stay here."

"Mkay, have it your way..." Naru walked off, leaving the concerned bluenette to stay her vigil while the sun set.

...

"Hey, Naru! Did you find Shinobu?" Kitsune called from the back side of the springs when she saw Naru enter.

"Yeah, but she just wanted to sit on the roof and wait for Keitaro to get back," Naru slid into the spring waters and sighed in relief as the heat penetrated her bones.

"Sometimes I worry for her," Motoko said, "He's a no good, perverted male, and she's an innocent girl. If I had my way they never would have met, and yet here they are, living under the same roof!"

"He's really not that bad though. He's always been good to us," Kitsune spoke a few words between gulps out of a fresh bottle of sake.

"Yeah, whenever the idiot's not groping us!" yelled Naru, "There's no way that all those times he's tried to molest us have been accidents!"

Kitsune got a sly smile on her face. "I would hope not! If a guy lived with us as long as he has without trying to cop a feel, I'd say it was because either we're ugly or he's gay! And based on his nosebleeds, I'd say he's straight as a ruler!" she chuckled.

"K-Kitsune, that's-" Naru stammered.

"Not d-decent-" Motoko trailed off.

All thoughts were drawn away from Keitaro's sexuality a second later as a high pitched scream tore itself from the halls of the Hinata-sou.

...

Shinobu woke up in a haze of confusion. This wasn't her room. She couldn't move her head or arms, and people were suddenly shouting. It was irritating, really.

"Shinobu! Are you okay? What happened?"

So it was Naru who was shouting. "What?"

"What happened? We heard you scream and we found you on the roof burned all over!"

"Huh?" It suddenly occurred to Shinobu that she was in an astounding amount of pain, so she answered Naru's first question as best she could-

She shrieked, joining another, deeper voice from outside, the voices dancing against each other in all kinds of horrible ways.

"Naru, that's Keitaro!" Su yelled.

"Go check on him, Naru, I'll be with you in a moment!" Motoko ordered. Naru nodded and ran toward the front door.

"Su, get over here! Help me hold her arms!" Despite the bandages and wrappings they had applied while she was unconscious, Shinobu's arms were now flailing, seemingly trying to wave the pain away.

Su nodded and pinned Shinobu's arms over her head while Motoko bent over the burnt girl. Faster than the untrained eye could follow, Motoko pressed a series of pressure points on Shinobu's neck, and in an instant, the flailing girl was in a dreamless sleep. Before Su even had time to let go, Motoko had drawn her katana and ran out the door after Naru.

Motoko's more athletic body soon caught up with Naru, and had just passed her when she stopped and stared into the bushes that lined the stairway. Naru stopped behind her, gasping.

"Wha-What is it, Motoko?"

The swords-woman just stared, and Naru followed her gaze and screamed at what she saw.

It was Keitaro, burned worse than Shinobu was. His clothes were destroyed completely, but any inappropriateness in the situation was negated by the state of the boy's flesh. Parts of him were actively burning, including an ember in his torso that had burned well into his chest. As Naru screamed in horror, it occurred to her that most of the fear was not from the wounds themselves, but the fact that they weren't healing.

"We have to get him into some water!" Motoko yelled, "Get him to the hot springs!"

Motoko grabbed the ankle that was not burning while Naru hoisted him up by his shoulders and they had started him toward the front door when Kitsune shouted at them.

"Hey, get him this way! Su's making a door!"

"Making a door?" Motoko wondered, "How will she-"

BOOM

"-Never mind"

Naru and Motoko carted Keitaro through the recently formed hole in the privacy wall of the springs and threw him into the water. The water instantly boiled over him, and after a few seconds of the flames burning despite the water, they were finally doused, and the girls fished him out.

"I need to bandage him. His wounds may be too much for his immortality to heal by itself." Motoko went back to her room to retrieve the medical kit she had used on Shinobu.

As she entered her room, she looked upon her other patient, who was still sleeping peacefully. After fetching the kit, she considered the similarity of their injuries before rushing back down to treat Keitaro.

...

The first thing that Keitaro did when he woke up in his room was to scream.

"Shinobu!"

The girls crowded over him, trying to calm him down, get him to lay back down, but all he saw was the fire consuming her, and the creature that caused it before turning on him. His own pain didn't matter. All he knew was that his friend was hurt.

"Shinobu!"


	3. Chapter 2

The Gemini Movement

Chapter 2: Single View

It was there again.

Looming.

Watching.

Planning.

Consuming.

Turning away all the blessed light from the fire.

...

"Shinobu!"

"Keitaro, calm down!"

"Shinobu!"

"Keitaro! Keitaro-sempai, I'm here!"

Keitaro was silent as he realized that the Shinobu he saw in front of him was not in flames, but was, in fact, fine, save for a slight redness that told of her experience.

"Shinobu, you're okay!" Keitaro started sobbing, "I-I thought the fire... I thought you were."

"I'm fine, sempai, it's okay. I'm more worried about you right now." Shinobu's face was a case study in anxiety, so Keitaro answered as quickly as he could.

"I-I'm fine." Keitaro tried to lie.

"Liar." Stated Motoko as she walked in with fresh bandages. "Your wounds may be healing cleaner and faster than any I have ever seen, but they're still wounds that an ordinary human would die from. You are far from healthy, and worlds away from comfortable.

Keitaro gave up the act and cringed from the pain he felt in his chest.

"Okay, I'm in pain, but don't worry Shinobu, I can't die, remember?" he laughed as he gave his trademark goofy grin.

"I thought you couldn't be injured, either, but here you are."

Everyone had a look of shock on their face except the person who spoke. "Shinobu, what are you talking about?" Naru asked, flabbergasted.

"Keitaro's supposed to be immortal, but look at him!" Shinobu shouted, "What gave me a bad sunburn seared a hole the size of Tama in his chest! The fact that he's alive is a miracle!"

"Shinobu, calm down-"

"I will not calm down, sempai," Shinobu cried, "You've almost died, and the thing that did it is still out there!"

"Wait, what?" shouted Naru, "Who did this to you, Shinobu?"

"Not just me, sempai, too..." Shinobu responded bitterly.

"Yes, what did that to you?" Naru conceded, deciding that now was not the time to put down the ronin.

Keitaro spoke from his place on his bed, "A demon."

Shinobu nodded at everyone's looks of disbelief. "A demon."

"Okay, okay, start from the beginning, you two, I wanna hear this from the beginning." Kitsune spoke to the two victims.

Keitaro started off, "Well, after I, uh, flew off, I blacked out. I must have hit my head or something, because I woke up a few hours later on the riverbank under the bridge. I started home and when I got to the top of the stairs, I saw Shinobu there, I tried to wave hello, but something kept me from waving. All of a sudden, she just burst into flames, and when I looked to my right, I saw it."

"The demon," Motoko interjected.

"Yes. He just looked at me and said, 'Have fun,' then hit me with some kind of fireball."

"Have fun?" said Naru quizzically, "I thought demons were supposed to say stuff like 'I own your soul' and stuff like that?"

"Well, he didn't say it like he was well-meaning, though. It was more like a command," Keitaro responded.

"How odd," thought Naru.

"I will search the premises for the demon and slay it if I find it." declared Motoko. Keitaro instantly yelled out to her.

"No! Don't! That thing nearly killed me, it could hurt you too!"

Motoko stopped at Keitaro's door. "Keitaro, I am the heir to the Shinmei-ryu school of sword fighting. My family has been fighting demons for many generations. If anyone in Hinata is ready to deal with this demon, it is me. Besides, if you try to stop me, I will treat you as though you were the demon for getting in my way. Am I clear?"

"Yes," Keitaro resigned.

Motoko began her search, and the others began to leave. It was then that Keitaro realized just how much talking had taken out of him. As he laid back down Shinobu, the last one behind, spoke in his ear.

"It's okay, sempai. You'll be okay."

"Thank you, Shinobu."

Keitaro then blacked out to continue sleeping off his injury.

...

Watching.

Plotting.

Hurting.

Cold.

Dark.

Endless.

...

"Urgh," ground out the ronin as he scrubbed the hot springs. It had been two weeks since the incident with the demon, and Motoko hadn't found anything on her search of the grounds. His injuries had healed in full save for a few small shots of pain whenever he moved his torso. Unfortunately, as the manager, he had to move his torso a lot, and as Keitaro, he had to move even more.

Naru and Motoko would punish him for any misdemeanor, causing him lots of pain in addition to the remnants of his wounds. Su often volunteered Keitaro as tester for her Mecha-Tama's weaponry, and Kitsune often employed tactics to get out of paying rent that would definitely involve his chest, so his outlook for the following weeks was bleak.

Luckily, his one guardian angel of the lot had come to his rescue. Shinobu had taken it upon herself to be next to him at all times she could manage, which of course led to Naru and Motoko acting as chaperones to make sure Keitaro didn't take advantage of the situation. Which in turn led to Kitsune and Su coming along for fun.

Life had gotten easier for the ronin. Because all the girls followed him around during the day, they would help with the chores, with the notable exception of Kitsune, who preferred the 'job' of keeping morale up. Strangely, his clumsiness was replaced by much more graceful reactions, catching himself when he fell, and even catching other people on occasion in very non-offensive ways. He was also more active, able to match Su's pace more often than not. And he was in a good mood, despite his recent injuries. His eyes gleamed like a child's, and his face shone in the midday sun. He seemed so carefree and joyful, and it lightened the mood of the residents just being around him.

"Hwaha! No more dirt there!" he shouted, swinging the broom like a sword. "And here! And here!" He yelled, swinging twice more.

"Keitaro, you're awfully energetic," stated Kitsune, being the designated information-gatherer of the tenants.

Keitaro, still swinging crazily simply laughed and replied, "Why shouldn't I be? After all, I'm in an amazing hot springs, and surrounded by all you wonderful girls! How could I not be happy?"

The other girls didn't even have time to blush before all hell broke loose.

"Pervert!"

"Urashima!"

The blows struck at the same time, an obvious connection, given that they rarely ever miss. Just one thing was different from all the other times this happened.

He was still there.

Firmly rooted to the ground, Keitaro looked down his chest. Naru's fist was still pressed hard into his belly, and Motoko's sword was hard-set against his hip. Both of them had looks of complete disbelief written across their faces at this breach of normalcy. He calmly reached down and grabbed both offending weapons in an iron grip, careful not to cut himself on Shisui, holding them in front of him to examine.

"Well, I see that you took offense to my compliment," Keitaro said. He looked up, and everyone was surprised at what they saw.

Keitaro's face, which had been so happy just seconds before, was now a mask of pain and sadness. Lines were on his face now that had never been there before, that told of many years of stress that seemed very out of place on his boyish face. His eyes no longer shone with the joy of the moment, but now were cold and distant as he looked over at the two would-be persecutors.

"I suppose you believe that kind gesture warrants this?" He asked.

Without waiting for an answer, he continued, "As manager, I must ensure the happiness of my tenants, but," he shifted his holds on the sword and fist, "in order to ensure that, my own health needs to be suitable to serve that purpose."

He then suddenly twisted his hand holding Motoko's sword and shattered it, leaving only the handle in her hands while she stared in disbelief. Motoko dropped to her knees, collecting what she could of her former weapon as the truth began to sink in. Shisui, the weapon that her life was dedicated to, was shattered effortlessly by the man she deemed as worthless scum.

Then Keitaro turned his icy gaze on Naru, whose heart almost stopped.

Oh my god he's going to break my arm! she thought.

Keitaro saw the fear in the girl's eyes and chuckled, adding to her horror. He spoke, his tone almost condescending, as though explaining something obvious to a child, "I won't break your bones. I'm not a demon."

He quickly pushed his hand forward, rolling Naru's hand downward, spraining her wrist, but not breaking it.

"Kyaa!" she screamed, cradling her injured hand to her chest. Keitaro looked down on her with his pitiless eyes.

"I'll be in my room. Tell me if anything I need to worry about happens."

Keitaro stalked off, leaving the entire group shocked until they finally remembered Naru, who by now was wailing from the throbbing pain, and rushed to her aid.


	4. Chapter 3

The Gemini Movement

Chapter 3: Single Tension

Shinobu was climbing the stairs to Keitaro's room, her mind a dizzying mix of emotions ranging from happiness that Keitaro didn't get hurt by Motoko and Naru, to fear of what he became when they tried.

The other girls were all scared witless by what they had seen. Not only had Keitaro stood up to Naru and Motoko, but had done great injury to their prides, and in Naru's case, her wrist. Motoko had done her best to wrap it, though Naru was still in shock. The Keitaro they knew would never have spoken a harsh word to them, or hurt them willingly. Keitaro had been locked up in his room for several hours, so she decided to offer him some company. Naru was reluctant to let the girl go to the manager's room by herself, but she sure as hell wasn't going with her.

Shinobu reached the doorway that was her goal and knocked softly. A voice inside said "Who is it?"

Shinobu drew back slightly, not recognizing the voice. It was lower and rougher than her sempai's, and it had an angry tone to it that reminded Shinobu of the abused dogs she had seen occasionally in the alleys around Hinata. She took a breath and said "I-It's Shinobu. May I come in?"

There was a pause, and the rough voice spoke again, "Come in."

Shinobu entered, and her eyes took a second to adjust to the complete darkness that flooded the room. No lights were on, and the curtains were pulled to shut out all the light from the evening sun. She took a few steps forward, and the door closed behind her, and the strange voice spoke in her ear, "What do you want, Shinobu?"

She spun around, and in the darkness caught a glimpse of the source of the strange voice.

"S-Sempai!" the girl stuttered, "I wanted to talk about what happened, I mean, if you want to, that is, I..."

"There's not much to say," Keitaro replied in the same, low voice, "I spoke out of line, and then hurt them when they tried to put me in my place. End of story."

"But, you didn't do anything wrong!" Shinobu argued.

"Like hell I didn't! Why else would someone feel the urge to punish me like that?"

"Because they thought you were coming on to us!"

"Who's to say I wasn't?"

It was more a statement than a question. Shinobu's eyes were adjusted to the lack of light, so she looked at Keitaro's face and saw sorrow, regret, feelings that, sadly, were much more at home on the face of her manager.

"Keitaro..."

"I wasn't... right," Keitaro struggled to speak, the look on his face was painful. Shinobu placed a hand on his shoulder, thanking the darkness for covering her blush.

"Keitaro, you can talk to me. I won't judge you..."

Keitaro was silent, staring into Shinobu's eyes. His eyes had taken on a complete look of hopelessness.

"Shinobu, what's the scariest dream you've ever had?"

"Huh?" Shinobu was startled. She was not expecting anything like that. She realized that telling the truth wouldn't end well. She quickly thought of the kind of nightmare the rest of Hinata-sou would expect her to have. "I had a dream once that you got food poisoning from one of the meals I made you. You were sick for days..."

"You're lying."

Shinobu looked up in surprise. Keitaro was not the kind of person to doubt someone, especially Shinobu.

"I appreciate the sentiment, but don't lie to me, Shinobu."

"Sorry, sempai..."

"So, really, what is the scariest dream you have ever had?" Keitaro pressed, "You said I could talk to you, surely you can talk to me?"

Shinobu folded to the logic. "My worst nightmare was that Naru and Motoko were right about you, about being a pervert, trying to take advantage of us..."

"In other words, like I was acting in the springs," Keitaro contributed.

"No! No! Not like that!" Shinobu waved her hands, "That was... nice..." She flushed crimson.

"Hmm," Keitaro fell silent, "Shinobu, could you go downstairs and tell the others I'll be down in a minute?"

"Y-Yes!" Shinobu said, hurrying downstairs.

...

"What?" shouted a suddenly fearful Naru, "He's coming down?" When Shinobu had informed the other tenants of Keitaro's return from his room, they all seemingly exploded in various forms of excitement.

"Yes, but he didn't seem angry or anything," Shinobu tried calming her down, "He really seemed to be sorry for what he did."

"Here he comes!" whispered Kitsune.

"Hey everyone!" The tension was broken instantly by the energetic voice on the stairway. Everyone looked toward it to see Keitaro, smiling and waving, "Sorry about before, guys, I guess I just got into a bad funk. Let me make it up to you!" He walked over to Naru first and said, "Let me see your hand."

Naru hesitantly held out her hand, while Keitaro pulled what looked like a tube of toothpaste out of his pocket.

"This cream helps me when I get whiplash from your hooks, so it should help your wrist!" he chattered as he squeezed out some of the pale yellow substance and applied it to her wrist.

"Wow! I feel better already!" Naru enthused.

"Yeah, it's pretty strong, isn't it?" he grinned. Then he turned to Motoko and asked her to follow him to the storeroom.

...

"Are you sure about this, Keitaro?" Motoko was dumbfounded. She held the solid black katana reverently. She could feel the strength of the blade coursing through it.

"Of course!" the young man replied, "I have no use for it, so the Hina blade is yours!"

Motoko bowed low and said, "Thank you, Keitaro, but I have to ask, are you alright?"

Keitaro arched an eyebrow, "What do you mean? I'm alright."

"What I mean is," Motoko shifted uncomfortably, "You were extremely cold earlier, and shattered Shisui, but now you're giving me your family's katana..."

"Like I said, I was in a bad mood for a while. No big deal!" Keitaro replied, "I do ask one thing in return, though."

"What is that?" Motoko asked almost-warily. Almost.

"Can I train with you sometime?"

"What?"

"I want to train some in martial arts. I want to train my body and mind so I can do my job here better, and stand more of a chance of getting into Toudai!"

Motoko thought for a moment, while Keitaro bounced on his heels for a few seconds, and then she replied, "I will train you, but know that most of the exercises will most likely be beyond you."

"Well, guess I'll just have to try, huh?" laughed the kendo girl's new pupil.

"We will begin in one week," Motoko stated, "Be up at five."

"Yes, ma'am!" Keitaro lilted as he bounced up the stairs toward his room.


	5. Chapter 4

The Gemini Movement

Chapter 4: Single Skill

Motoko awoke early, even by her standards, drenched in a cold sweat. She turned to her clock, focusing on the numbers. 4:00. She stirred, lifting herself from her bed, wondering what caused the strange dream she had.

...

In it, she was training on the roof, when she felt a cut on her left hand. Looking, it was only a scratch, and continued her practice.

After a few more swings, though, her hand was bleeding heavily, until her entire arm was dripping red, but when she tried to stop swinging, her right arm kept moving on its own. With every swing her right hand made, the cut on her hand got deeper, until she drowned in the blood.

…

Motoko exited her room in her training garb, the Hina blade by her side. It was the first day of Keitaro's training, so she had decided to get an early start on her daily training routines.

As she stepped up to the roof, she saw a figure silhouetted against the first rays of light over the horizon. It was performing a complicated set of strikes in every direction at speeds that reduced the person's hands to blurs.

As she watched, the figure's movements became more erratic, and she realized that the swings were random, creating an unpredictable whirlwind of limbs.

"I never knew Keitaro to be so swift," Motoko said to herself. She blinked as she realized that it was, in fact, her manager thrashing about in front of her.

"Keitaro?"

The dervish slowed to a halt, and turned his head to the swords-woman. "Oh, hello, Motoko!" he smiled, "I woke up about an hour ago and decided to warm up!"

"Alright," Motoko slowly said, "If you would join me in some stretches first, I would like to begin your training with a light sparring session."

"Okay," Keitaro sounded quite eager to get started, so Motoko led him in some basic stretches before placing her katana to the side and taking up a fighting stance, her feet slightly apart and both hands held loosely to her sides.

Keitaro set his left foot forward and bent his elbows so his forearms were parallel to the ground, and stiffened his hands to form crude points.

Motoko arched a brow, asking, "What stance is that?"

Keitaro shrugged, saying, "I don't know, it just feels right."

"Alright," Motoko cringed to herself, seeing a fatal flaw in his stance, his balance could easily be thrown backwards with a small push. However, she kept this secret from her pupil, experience being the best way to learn. "On three, we begin. One. Two. Three."

…

Backstabber.

Murderous.

Deceit.

Illusions.

Pain.

…

A thin, pale man cowered in the corner of a dungeon. His bones could clearly be seen through his flesh, being so deprived of nourishment. His face was gray and miserable, telling of how long he had languished in his corner, the shackles holding him there being rough enough to bite his arms and legs, but not cut them off, giving him the blessed freedom he craved. The portcullis that served as the one – in – one – out to the prison opened, allowing one man inside.

He was dressed in finery that words couldn't describe, lest they tarnish the beauty of the attire. His shirt was loose white silk, and had a lion embroidered in golden thread across the front, and his pants were close – cut and blood red. But what drew the eye the most was the crown he wore. It was cast of pure gold, and set with rubies that literally blazed. The fire licked upwards from the man's head, though he paid no attention to it. He approached the prisoner and bent over him, frowning slightly.

"Well look at you. You took everything you wanted and see where it got you!" the blazing king gestured around him, "You're rotting here, you know that? You'll die soon if you don't get out of here."

"And how," spat the prisoner, "do you suggest I go about that? These shackles don't exactly open themselves!"

The king laughed gently, a rare thing for him. "That all depends, my bitter foe, on who will help you."

He reached upward and removed a ruby from the crown, and without hesitating, threw it at the wall the prisoner was bound to. The shackles shattered, and the prisoner rubbed his hands before looking toward his savior. "Why did you free me? Going to torture me now, is that it?"

The king let loose a shrill, shrieking laugh that grated against the prisoner's ears before replying, "No no-no-no-no-no-no-no-nooooooo. I just wanted my opposition to be more... opposing!"

He gave a final laugh before disappearing in a flurry of lightning and flames. The prisoner shook his head and drew his knife across his arm before turning to leave.

…

Motoko couldn't understand why Keitaro hadn't yielded yet. She had hit him soundly on numerous occasions, but every time she hit, Keitaro's attacks would redouble. He fought fiercely, and eventually, he was guaranteed a-

"Woof!" Motoko gasped as one of Keitaro's pointed hands found her stomach. The look in Keitaro's eyes gained more fire as he watched Motoko flinch from the contact.

"Hehe, gotcha," he flashed a "V" at her with his fingers.

Motoko regained her composure and grinned. This was starting to get fun.

She dove for Keitaro, swinging her right hand toward his head, and jabbing her left toward his chest.

Keitaro knocked her left hand to the side, and pulled on her arm.

Motoko was thrown off balance, not expecting the maneuver, and fell right into Keitaro's arms, knocking him over.

When Motoko opened her eyes, it was to see her manager's face only an inch or so away. After a few seconds of shock, she saw Keitaro suddenly grin.

"Motoko, I won't make you move, but I'd like to continue training."

Motoko flushed crimson and hurriedly stood up, moving a few steps away.

Just as Keitaro had stood up and dusted himself off, Kitsune made her presence known.

"Hey, you two, Shinobu says breakfast is ready!" Kitsune noticed something odd. Motoko was blushing, Keitaro was grinning in a way that reminded her of, well, her, and her manager was definitely still on Terra firma. She would have to investigate this later.

…

Shinobu was whistling while the made an American styled breakfast: scrambled eggs, bacon strips, and toast with jelly, butter, or mashed banana, depending on the person. She floated between the stove and counters like a bee between flowers, something that she noticed.

"Hmm, I think I'd look cute in a bee costume. I'd just show up at the table wearing it and act like nothing's different and everyone would feel too awkward to ask and sempai would see that I'm a 'queen bee' and ask me to be my drone, and-"

She realized that her nose had now bled all down her face, breaking her thoughts from those of 'busy bees' as she searched for a towel.


	6. Chapter 5

The Gemini Movement

Chapter 5: Single Question

As everyone was waiting for Shinobu and Naru to bring out breakfast. They chatted amongst themselves. Su chattered to Sara, who had just been dropped off by her adopted father, Seta, about her Banana-Tracking-Tama, while Kitsune was speaking animatedly with Keitaro, leaving Motoko to think of what had happened earlier.

Why am I so embarrassed over that? Is it because I didn't react first? I didn't enjoy that, did I? He was so warm... Agh! No! It was nothing, even to him! He wanted me to get off. Oh, my...

Motoko buried her face in her napkin after realizing what her mind just said.

I am so perverted, so, so, perverted.

Seeing Motoko turn a lovely shade of green, Keitaro broke his chatter with Kitsune and lifted Motoko's head from the napkin. "Are you okay, Motoko? Are you sick?"

"No... no Keitaro," replied the swords-woman, whose face now looked like blushing head of lettuce.

"Was your training session very... exhausting?" Kitsune probed, keeping an innocent look on her face.

"N-no, not really," Motoko's face was probably going to stain permanently at this point.

"It's okay, Motoko, what's wrong?" fretted the clueless ronin, laying his hand on her shoulder.

"Kyaa!" Motoko cried out as she rushed to her room, leaving behind a perplexed Shinobu, Sara, Su, and Keitaro, a hysterical Kitsune, and a pissed Naru.

"What the hell did you do to her?" Naru exploded at her manager.

"I asked her what was wrong, and she left." was the too-calm reply.

Naru faltered, as did the fist she was about to embed in his face. She obviously wasn't expecting a viable excuse. "What?"

"She looked upset, and when I tried to ask her about it, she ran off. The others should be able to vouch for me, no?" he looked around at the others.

Kitsune, Su, and Sara nodded readily, not sure exactly was going on with their manager. Keitaro being calm under any form of accusation was unheard of, and the last time things were this out of normal, Naru got hurt. The redhead in question did something else unheard of: back down to a guy.

"Sorry, I didn't think..." Naru mumbled.

"It helps on the entrance exams, believe me," Keitaro countered without changing his expression from the slight frown. "Though, having food to your brain to run on helps out, too," Keitaro broke into a wide grin, "From the looks of it, breakfast is ready, do you need help getting food out?"

"No, sempai, we're good here," said the diminutive chef, "but if you could take a plate up to Motoko's room-"

"I'm on it!" Keitaro took the plate Shinobu offered and went up the stairs two at a time to Motoko's room and knocked on her door. "Motoko, are you hungry? I have a plate here for you!"

"Keitaro... could you come in here? I want to talk to you a moment..." Motoko's voice sounded small, which was odd compare to the warrior whose presence could fill a room easily.

"Um, sure, Motoko. Let me go grab some tea and my plate and I'll be right in," said a very perplexed Keitaro, starting back toward the kitchen.

…

Keitaro was decidedly uncomfortable. He and Motoko had sat silently at the small table for a while, both had finished their breakfasts and most of their tea. If either of them had school, they would have been late, however, neither of them had any pressing business at the time, so Keitaro didn't try to press her into talking. After finishing her third cup of tea, though, Motoko spoke.

"I want you to tell me something, Keitaro."

"If it's about what happened on the roof, I'm sorry, I didn't think you'd fall onto me." Keitaro bowed to Motoko in apology.

"No, it's not that," Motoko seemed to struggle with her words for a moment, "I want you to tell me something. What is the cause behind perversion?"

Keitaro had the knee-jerk reaction of diving for cover on hearing the word 'perversion' from Motoko before realizing what she had said. "The cause? Why are you asking me that?

"Because, I have witnessed you being a pervert on many occasions," Keitaro blushed slightly at this, "but I've also seen you in situations you could easily exploit, but haven't. I want to know why that is."

Keitaro was extremely uncomfortable, "Um, well, hehe..."

"I'm not going to punish you, unless you turn your perversion upon me," Motoko said, reassuring Keitaro while putting enough bite into the last part to keep him from getting too comfortable.

"Alright, then," Keitaro relented, "The first thing you need to understand is that not all perversion is intentional for all men."

"How so?" Motoko raised an eyebrow.

"Well," Keitaro paused, thinking off the best way to phrase what he was about to say, when he spotted a manga sitting in the corner, which he recognized, "Is that book yours?"

Motoko looked at where he was pointing and shook her head, "No, it's Su's, but she made me read it with her a few nights back. Why?"

"Okay, remember when Kumu would grab Tsune and, um..." Keitaro trailed off.

"Act indecently?" Motoko offered.

"Yeah!" Keitaro accepted, "Tsune gets embarrassed and acts somewhat perverted, but that's not his fault, because Kumu making her body very obvious to him in an indecent way."

"But couldn't Tsune ignore it?" Motoko thought of the boy in the manga spitefully.

"No," Keitaro said simply, "Could you ignore someone who was right here?" Keitaro held his hand in front of her face.

"I suppose not, but why does it have to be sexual?"

"Because that's being brought to Tsune's attention too. Kumu isn't exactly subtle in that."

"So how," Motoko started, "would that apply to you? None of the girls here, with the possible exception of Konno, draw your attention to their bodies."

"Except when you're punishing me for being a lech," Keitaro corrected, "I wouldn't think of those incidents as sexual if you didn't punish me for just that."

Motoko had a blank look on her face. "What?"

"In other words, my perversion isn't the cause of the the punishments, it's the other way around."

Motoko frowned at this, and thought over Keitaro's words, before accepting them as possible, if not the truth. "Alright, but shouldn't Tsune be able to control himself some? Especially for Koma's sake." Koma was the 'not – quite – girlfriend' to Tsune in the manga.

"Well, like I said, it's hard to ignore something like that, and a person's mind can betray them very often. Happens to me all the time!" Keitaro scratched the back of his head.

I know the feeling. thought Motoko.

"Hmm," Motoko sighed, "And Mize and Yuki?"

Keitaro furrowed his brow. What do you mean Mize and Yuki? Yuki's several years younger than Tsune, and Mize doesn't seem to have any interest in him."

Motoko thought to herself- Yuki's feelings for Tsune are the most obvious of them all, and Mize hasn't stopped thinking about him since he saved her from their evil teacher, and even more when he kept her from falling off the school after she challenged him for a duel to decide the ownership of the inn...

Wait, where did that come from? Motoko shook her head and decided to meditate on it later. "Than what about Negi? He goes out of his way to collect... souvenirs... of his perverseness!"

"Well, that's why I said 'not intentional for all men,' Nige is one guy who honestly deserves to be punished," Motoko noticed a slight vein cross appear on his right temple, "He doesn't have any respect or decency. His actions pretty well encompass all the things you've called me since I got here!" He grinned at what he had just thought of, "In fact, Negi reminds me of my friends, Haitani and Shirai!"

Motoko remembered them from the time they had hit on her at the bridge, before laughing out loud, "I suppose they are like Nige," she gasped between breaths. Motoko's laughter proved contagious, and soon, Keitaro and Motoko were both rolling on the floor. After several minutes, they both calmed down enough to sit up. Motoko wiped a tear from her eye and looked at Keitaro, "Can I ask you one more question?"

Keitaro, still smiling, said, "Sure! What is it?"

"If your friends are like Negi, wouldn't that make you like Tsune?"

"Huh? I don't think I'm that much like him."

"I guess not," said Motoko, "Tsune would be too clueless to see the differences between you."

…

Underhanded.

Betrayal.

Scum.

Heartless.

…

"What is it Kitsune?" Keitaro asked as he walked into Kitsune's room. Keitaro had been in his good mood for the last couple of weeks, and everyone was enjoying it. Keitaro hadn't gotten into an accident since the previous Saturday, when he tripped over one of Su's robots onto Motoko.

Keitaro freaked out at first, but calmed down when Motoko said simply, "Are you doing anything wrong?" Keitaro then was able to stand up, help Motoko up, and continue his day un-launched.

Kitsune in particular enjoyed the company of this funny, cheerful personality that was their manager. She had also had an increase of repairs needed in her room. "Nothin' much Kei, just another broken hinge on my sake cabinet."

"Again? Let me guess, you broke it while you were drunk last night?"

Kitsune nodded, even though it was a lie. She knew it, and she knew he knew it.

Keitaro shook his head in mock exasperation as he began to work, "You really are too rough at night."

Kitsune smiled. The game had begun.

"I don't think so. I mean, when you're drinking, it's so hard to be slow and easy," Kitsune retorted.

"Yes, but if you were, it'd be more enjoyable for you, and much less work for me."

"True, but I like it when you have to work hard."

"That's not very nice considering how many times I've done this for you." That one earned a pair of red ears from the fox.

"Okay, then, maybe one of these times I'll treat you by going nice and slow. But, sooner or later you'll be begging me to be rough." Kitsune's smile grew wide as she saw her manager's neck turn beet red.

"Who says I can't last a while when you go slow?"

"I bet you couldn't last an hour!"

Keitaro finished fixing the hinge, stood up, and turned around. He was face to face with Kitsune, whose eyes went wide. He leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Why don't we find out?" He then admired the nice painting of red that had replaced Kitsune's face before leaving.

Kitsune smiled to herself, "I need a cold shower. Again."


	7. Chapter 6

The Gemini Movement

Chapter 6: Single Pair

"Yaaaaaaa!" shouted an exhilarated Keitaro as he sprinted around Hinata-sou. Close behind him streaked what could only be described as a turtle that is seriously overcompensating.

It was one of Su's Mecha-Tamas. In fact, it was the Battle-Tama Mk. 5 she had told Kitsune about. Specifically ver. 6. It's body was no larger than Tama herself, but coming out of it's metal shell was a pair of guns that looked like it came from a sci-fi novel. The barrels each had a series of rings around them that glowed electric blue, and when they fired, it looked like a laser. The truly ridiculous bit was that the guns were around ten times the size of the robo-turtle they were on!

Keitaro was doing his best to outrun the tenacious franken-turtle, but it was putting up a good fight. Keitaro would round a corner, the Mk. 5 would drift after him. He would jump to the roof, a new ability granted by Motoko's continued training, and the steel reptile would be right on him!

Suddenly, Keitaro jumped backwards and slightly to the left, passing just by the mecha-tama, and landing right behind it. He then caught it by the back flippers and pulled out the utility knife from his pocket. The used the screwdriver to twist a screw on it's belly, shutting it off instantly.

"Wow, Keikei! That was amazing!" shouted Su, who had seen the whole thing.

"The problem is in turning at low speeds," Keitaro commented, "If it's not moving quickly, the Mk. 5's turning slows down to a crawl."

"Really? I could fix that by mounting a thruster on each front flipper..." her speech descended into scientific rambling that would confuse most rocket physicists.

"Keitaro, could I talk to you?" Keitaro turned to see Naru at the door of the Hinata-sou.

"Sure, Naru," Keitaro waved goodbye to Su and started toward the door.

"Follow me," Naru commanded, starting toward the bedrooms.

Keitaro complied, and followed her to his room. She walked in and waited for him to enter. Keitaro hesitated a moment before stepping through. He went to sit down when Naru spoke again, "Close the door."

Keitaro closed the door and went again to sit, when he noticed that Naru hadn't done so, nor seemed to want to.

"Come here," she said. The tone she had was starting to agitate Keitaro, but he gave her the benefit of the doubt and walked the short distance across his room to where she stood by his short bookcase.

Naru then leaned in close to Keitaro's face and asked, "Where do you keep your photo sticker book?"

"Huh? Behind my Physics and Calculus study books," Keitaro was thoroughly confused as to why needed to see that book.

Naru fished it out without looking,"What kind of hat am I wearing in our picture?"

Keitaro thought for a moment before responding, "Ah! It was a cream-colored sunhat with a gray ribbon!"

Naru visibly relaxed, actually falling to her knees. "Good. It is you."

"What are you talking about, Naru?"

"Well, for a while now you've been so different. I guess I had to make sure it was you. I'm sorry."

Keitaro waved it off, "It's okay. I guess I have been feeling pretty good recently, so I guess I'm glad that I am me!" He then laughed, making Naru smile for what felt to her like the first time in weeks.

"Okay. See you later, Keitaro." Naru got up and left, leaving a very thoughtful Keitaro in his room. It was 3:25 in the afternoon, and the light was starting to hurt his eyes, so he drew in his blinds.

As his eyes eased up on him, he sat on his bed and thought to himself.

I wonder why Naru was so worried. Have I really changed that much? I don't think I have, I'm still the same Keitaro, right? Same old stupid, lazy, weak ronin yeah?

Liar. I'm helping Su improve robotics designs that entire nations can't build, I'm more energetic than ever, and I've been giving Motoko a good sparring partner. I'm hardly the same old Keitaro.

I guess that's true.

Know what else the old Keitaro didn't do either? Scare the girls. I remember their faces after I defended myself in the hot springs That was fear. I scare them. All of them. Even Shinobu was scared of me, I saw it. The others probably made her come up here to make sure I wasn't getting ready to kill them all.

(Author's Note: Keitaro's words in this next paragraph are of self-criticism, not murderous intent. Just want to make sure you know.)

And I would. I don't like it, but I would. That aggression won't stop at spraining a wrist. Next time someone gets me mad, I'll probably kill them! I'll kill the girls I love because they're afraid of me. Of course that's what will happen. They'll strike me out of fear, I'll get angry, and tear them apart.

Keitaro now was crying in self loathing, when he heard someone approaching his door.

Oh my god, no! It's one of the girls. I need them to go away so I don't hurt them!

"Keitaro-sempai, I brought you a snack!" It was Shinobu. Of course it was Shinobu.

"I-It's okay, I'm not hungry," Keitaro tried.

"Really? Are you sick?" she was opening the door.

Keitaro panicked. He couldn't let her get near him when he was like this. "No, so leave now!" he yelled toward the door. The instant he said it though, he saw Shinobu's face through the opening of the door. She was crying.

"I'm sorry, Sempai."

Keitaro ran out his door and upstairs to the roof where he ran to the farthest reach he could get to and sat down on the edge of the roof. He pulled out the utility knife and took a good look at it. It's handle was covered in textured black rubber, and concealed all the non-knife components of the tool. The blade was around six inches long, one-sided, and had a smooth edge with about an inch of serration at the inch nearest the handle.

It was a beautiful knife really. He used it in all kinds of jobs around the inn. He thought to pick it up when lugging around the whole toolbox started becoming too much of a hassle when the tools he used most often could be carried in his pocket. He realized how many uses the knife really had. Screwdrivers, scissors, bottle and can openers, awl, hook, tweezers, corkscrew, pliers, saw, penance-

Penance? Keitaro thought as he looked at the blade in his hand. It could... He rolled up his sleeves. Take away... He set the edge against his wrist. My punishment... He slid the knife.

…

Naru moved the board that covered the hole between hers and Keitaro's rooms and stuck her head down, "What's all the yelling?"

She saw Shinobu just outside Keitaro's door, looking toward the stairs leading to her floor and crying. Just then, she heard footsteps running past her door, toward the roof. What the hell happened?

Naru jumped down and rushed to Shinobu's side. "What happened? Why did Keitaro run off?"

"I d-don't know," Shinobu sobbed, "I just brought him a snack, then he yelled at me and ran off!"

"It's okay, I'll make you some tea and I'll go find him," Naru led Shinobu off to comfort her, thinking that this was definitely not Keitaro behavior.

…

The prisoner now looked much less the part. In fact, he was now dressed in robes of fine matte black that covered his entire frame. He was standing in front of the King, whose clothes were now completely red, and very ragged.

"I thought you didn't like torturing people." the Lord said.

The King looked up, several cuts on his face, "If you think I'm letting you get away with this..."

"What will you do? You're mine now." The Lord drew a whip out of his robes and slashed the King again, giving more of the red dye to his formerly regal attire. "Your sickening banquets of flesh and blood are over."

"And we're better off with you?" The King spat, "Look at me! Is this how it's going to be from now on?"

"You may be bloodied, but you're obedient," the Lord slashed again at the King before him.

…

Keitaro had spent several hours on the roof, but no one had found him. His little nook on the roof was a well hidden corner that no one else knew of. He overheard Naru and Motoko talking while they were searching for him. Apparently Shinobu told them what had happened, and they were looking for him. They eventually gave up on finding him on the roof and decided to search the grounds after dinner.

He held up his arms and saw that they seemed to color the moon behind them. He then realized that the moon was, in fact, red and it wasn't his eyes playing tricks on him.

"Hello, Keitaro," a voice said behind him, "I found you."

Keitaro twisted his neck to see who it was, and was surprised to see an adult version of Su behind him. Everything, from her body, which had filled in significantly, to her voice, which was deeper and more feminine. She was wearing what appeared to be the traditional garb of Indian royalty. The female half, that is.

"Su?" Keitaro asked, his voice gravelly from several hours without use.

"Yep. This happens to me under the red moon. I grow up until the moon passes by!" Su grinned until she saw Keitaro's arms, "Oh no! What happened to you? Wait here, I'll get the others!"

"Su, wait," Keitaro called, "Could you not tell the others about this?"

Su saw the knife he held in his hand and put two and two together. "Why did you do that to yourself? We've all been worried sick that you were hurt, but none of us thought that you would..."

"Su, It's okay. Really," he assured, "I just needed to do this. For myself. Please just promise not to tell the others, okay?"

Su frowned, but eventually relented, "Oh, okay, I promise. Just don't do it again, okay?"

I hope I don't have to. "Okay," he nodded.


	8. Chapter 7

The Gemini Movement

Chapter 7: Single Shadow

Everyone was gathering around the table for another of Shinobu's delicious dinners. In the weeks following Su's morbid discovery, the other girls had inquired them as to where he had been and why he stayed there for so long. Su, true to her word, told no one, but would occasionally give Keitaro a worried look when the others wouldn't notice.

Motoko looked toward the stairs. At the table was Keitaro, Naru, and herself. Shinobu was in the kitchen. She could hear Kitsune starting out of her room, but Su was nowhere to be seen.

"Kitsune, have you seen Su?" Naru asked as soon as the tipsy fox sat down.

"No clue. I haven't seen her in a while," Kitsune replied curiously.

"She's been spending a lot of time in her room," Motoko spoke up, "She says she's looking up a couple of things."

"Ah, here she comes!" Keitaro said. Indeed the tan blonde was coming down the steps, but she was moving slowly for her, and even more out of place, on her feet. She also looked slightly pale, her long hours on the computers in her room showing. She looked like she hadn't slept in several days, yawning widely as she took her spot between Motoko and Keitaro.

Now that everyone was there, in body if not in consciousness, Shinobu brought out the meal. It was another Western style meal, something she enjoyed making. Each plate held a good sized steak, a side of potatoes, and the appropriate utensils.

"Wow, Shinobu, it smells great!" Keitaro's eyes were wide as he witnessed the chef's work.

Shinobu's hair clashed beautifully with the deep blush that formed on her face.

Once the red blue-head had served everyone, she sat down and everyone began to eat.

Keitaro grabbed his fork and took a bite of the potatoes before turning to the steak when he felt eyes on him to his right. Su was staring at him, or more specifically, at the steak knife he held in his right hand.

"It's okay, Su," Keitaro whispered to Su, "I'm not planning anything."

Su seemed satisfied, at least for the time being. But she couldn't forget how his arms had looked, bathed red in his blood. The wounds healed cleanly, there weren't even scars to show for it. The other girls had no reason to suspect Keitaro's actions. Su finished her meal at around the same pace as the others and started back up the stairs to her room. She had an idea, she just needed some more information.

…

"Alright Keitaro," Motoko stood beside her pupil, "You have been progressing well in basic combat techniques, so now we will begin with ki attacks."

"Alright," Keitaro had been more toned down in the mornings recently, though not sleepy. The excitement of things around the inn had faded off recently, though, so that wasn't surprising.

Motoko motioned Keitaro to face her and told him to close his eyes. "Ki is the life force that all things have, and as such can grow or shrink depending on many things. Their health, emotions, mental state, and state of calm can all affect a person's ki. Ki is similar in many ways to your blood and your breath, and knowing that is the key to moving it."

"Imagine your bloodstream," Motoko continued, "Imagine the warmth of your blood. Take a hold of it. Can you feel it?"

"Yes," Keitaro's voice was distant.

"Now, move it from one arm to the other, feel the strength wax and wane as your ki enters and leave each arm," Motoko watched the afterimage-like aura of Keitaro's ki swing back and forth, surprised at the amount of ki he had.

"Now, hold up your arm," Motoko said, "and push it out like a breath."

Keitaro raised his arm, took a breath, and let it out.

…

Su was tapping at the keyboard so fast the words on the screen were nothing but a blur. Somehow, though, she was still able to decipher the words that were the most important words in the world right now.

"Faster... How can it be faster?" She muttered.

…

Ki is altered by emotions, so I should pour everything I have into this. Keitaro thought to himself as he extended his arm forward. All my emotion...

Keitaro leveled his arm with the roof, his first finger pointed toward the mountainside. He sent all the energy he could through the finger, yelling "Anshobango no Yami!"

Millions of black needles sprayed forward from Keitaro's extended finger, peppering the mountainside with miniscule black dots. Keitaro's arm dropped as he looked at his handiwork, he turned to Motoko, who looked to him as well, when Motoko cried out in joy.

"Keitaro, that was amazing! It was your first try at a ki attack, too! I bet with some practice we could improve that to a well-refined attack! What was that, anyway?"

"I think I called it Anshobango no Yami (Black Needle)."

"Well, let's try it again, show me how you did it before," Motoko pulled him to the center of the roof.

"Okay, let's see..." Keitaro took a standing position, much like he was going to talk to someone he didn't like. He closed his eyes and raised his arm to be parallel with the roof, with the elbow bent out slightly. He pointed his index finger forward, but left the rest of his hand loose. He thought of the fuel that had brought about the attack before and yelled the name of the attack.

"Anshobango no Yami!" As before, the blast of needles erupted from his finger, and while they didn't hurt, Keitaro found a tear running down his cheek all the same.

Motoko marveled at the display of ki before her for a few seconds before noticing the sparkle of the tear on Keitaro's face. "Keitaro, are you alright?" Once the storm of needles stopped, Keitaro fell to the ground, clutching his sides and gasping in pain.

"Keitaro!" Motoko ran forward and dropped to his side.

One of the needles must have hit him in the side. She thought. She proceeded to pull off Keitaro's shirt, which was made more difficult by the fact that his arms were pinned to his sides in pain.

Suddenly, Keitaro just relaxed, his face unwinding from the twisted face of agony that had been there before. He was panting as though he had just ran around the Hinata-sou.

"Keitaro, what happened?" Motoko's face was caught between worry for his well-being, and murderous intent if he had been pulling her leg.

"I don't know," the panted answer came, "My sides just started hurting out of nowhere."

Motoko frowned at the feeble answer, but seeing the sincerity in his eyes, chose to leave it. "Perhaps we should cut this training session short. We don't want to risk any serious injury."

"Alright," it was Keitaro's turn to frown. He really wanted to keep training, but he had asked Motoko to train him, and resting is as important as training.

…

Though he had extra time from his practice with Motoko being cut short, Keitaro still had his managerial duties to attend to. Even if most of the girls had taken on some job or another, Keitaro was still the best at building repairs, and somehow both Shinobu and Kitsune broke their doors that morning. Kitsune had told him to fix Shinobu's door first, out of respect for the younger lady, and to possibly have a worn-out opponent, so Keitaro got the necessary supplies and tools and headed for Shinobu's room.

"Ah! Hello sempai!" Apparently Shinobu had not expected Keitaro's arrival so soon, as she was blushing more than she usually did when she saw Keitaro.

"Hello Shinobu! Motoko let me off early, so I decided to get started on your doors!" he smiled, getting his first real look into the shy girl's room.

What he saw was a bit of a surprise. Instead of the bright colors and frills he had expected, the room before him was painted a deep blue, but was well lit by the sunlight streaming through the window. There were shelves with various books on two of the walls. The bed in the corner, Keitaro was surprised to see, was a western bed, with her alarm clock sitting on the foot-board. Keitaro had an image of Shinobu waking up in the morning to the alarm, crawling over to shut it off-

Argh no! I'm way too old to be thinking of her! Keitaro shook his head to get rid of the thought.

"Sempai?" Shinobu's face was about a foot away from his, "What's wrong?"

"N-N-Nothing, Shinobu!" Keitaro stammered, "I'll just get started on your door, yeah?"

"Okay..." Shinobu turned back into her room.

Oh no! Shinobu almost ran to stuff a black-and-yellow striped piece of fabric back into the wide chest she kept bedspreads in.

…

Keitaro emerged from Kitsune's room grinning in victory, again. Not long after, Kitsune came out with her toiletries and headed for the showers.

When Naru saw Keitaro come down the stairs, she called him over to the couch. Keitaro sat down next to her, and waited for her to speak.

"Keitaro, can I see your knife?" she finally said. The gutter humor of what she said was not lost on Keitaro, who made himself not comment.

"Alright," he searched his right pocket briefly, "Any particular reason?"

She opened the blade halfway, and examined the hinge of the knife.

"I knew it. You cut yourself." Keitaro's mouth dropped.

"How-How'd you find out?"

"A... friend of mine used to cut," Naru explained, "They would do horrible stuff, but then they'd go and cut themselves, and act like that was payment for what they had done. That's not how it works, Keitaro. I'm glad Shinobu forgave you, but you should have apologized, at least!"

"I know, but she's okay, and I haven't sliced myself open since then," Keitaro tried.

Naru looked long and hard at Keitaro, "I wasn't sure whether to tell the others or talk to you first," Naru said sadly, "Don't make me regret my choice."

"Alright," Keitaro nodded, "I won't."

…

"It's almost done!"

Su was running around her room, wiring circuitry that spanned across her entire room like a net. On one of the terminals was a label hastily drawn in permanent marker.

'Project MONO'

…

Fake.

Pitiful.

Reckless.

Killer.


	9. Chapter 8

The Gemini Movement

Chapter 8: Single Savior

"You pervert, I shall erase you from this world!" the samurai held her gleaming blade to her side, "Your blood shall be the next to stain my sword!"

"You overestimate yourself, for it is my blade that shall destroy you!" the man held his sword in his left had, behind him.

Both warriors stood on opposing sides of the rooftop, while a small crowd stood to the side watching.

"We shall see," the samurai spun in a slow arc on her heel, shouting, "Shinku-zen!" unleashing a ki-powered blade of air at her opponent, who dodged without a scratch.

"Nice try," he said, "But you'll have to do better. Akumu-kumo!" A sphere of opaque blackness flew toward the samurai, who jumped high in the air, coming in for an overhead slash.

The other combatant saw this, and parried quickly. With blades locked, the man readied another attack.

"Anshobango-no-juujika!" Several jet-black quills formed in a circle around the samurai, who quickly broke the parry and dodged the attack. The quills than all darted through the center of where her body had been, marking a circle in the rooftop before flickering away.

"Shinku-zen!"

"Anshobango-no-Yami!"

At the same time, both ki attacks left the warriors. They met between them, the repeated impact of the quills slowing down the arc of wind, until it finally dissipated with the last of the needles.

"Nice. You negated my attack. But I bet you weren't expecting this! Kirai-nami!" He swung his sword into the roof, sending a crescent of black energy towards the samurai that skimmed along the ground, causing the samurai to jump to avoid it. However, as soon as she did so, the man simply pointed at her and said, "Anshobango-no-Yami."

The samurai landed and bowed to the man, "Congratulations, Keitaro. You won!" she looked up and smiled at her rapidly improving student.

"It's nothing, Motoko!" waved off the embarrassed manager, "That last move was kind of a cheap shot anyway."

"It was good tactics. A good tactician always knows how to trick his enemy into defeat," replied Motoko.

Ever since Keitaro harnessed his ki abilities, Motoko and Keitaro had been sparring in a more theatrical style than they had before. The slow, wordy combat let Keitaro focus on his ki, while preparing for Motoko's attacks. It also let the rest of the house come up and watch the realer-than-TV 'fights' between Motoko and their manager.

Keitaro had refined the needles from his Black Needle attack into quills, and could perform more complicated attacks with them, as well as discovering that he could extend spheres of black ki in various forms, like a cloud or a blade, much like Motoko's Shinku-zen.

The strange pain that Keitaro had felt had not plagued him anymore during his training sessions with Motoko, but they would often haunt him at night, making it more difficult for him to sleep. Not that he told any of the girls.

Motoko had eventually insisted that Keitaro start training with a sword, and asked her sister Tsuruko to send one. The reply had been faster than she expected, Shippu appearing the same day Motoko had called her sister with katana in hand, er, talon.

The sheath was nothing special. It was made of wood, with no embellishments. But the blade it hid was a work of art. Apparently Grandma Hina had requisitioned it for the first Urashima who requested it, and Tsuruko followed through.

It was a double-edged katana, a rarity in itself. The front edge was black, like the Hina Blade, and had intricate designs of wolves on it, all facing the edge. The reverse side's edge, however, was zigzagged and red, with the points leaned toward the handle, and an engraving of flames along it.

'It's name is Kuroi Houka. Use it well, Keitaro Urashima. -Tsuruko Aoyama'

Motoko and Keitaro spent the better part of an hour examining the sword before putting it to use. Motoko tested its edge on some wood blocks, and was surprised to find that while the black edge cut cleanly, the red edge tore the wood block into several pieces in one swing. She warned Keitaro to be careful when she gave him the sword back, in case there were any more surprises from the unique weapon.

Keitaro tried holding the sword first with the black edge, then the red in front, and found that not only did both feel very natural to him, but he could turn the sword around without thinking about it.

"That was pretty impressive, Keitaro!" Naru walked over to them, when suddenly her eyes went wide and she looked over Motoko and Keitaro's shoulders. There was a smoke cloud rising from the town.

"That's Mutsumi's place!" Naru shrieked.

Keitaro looked at Motoko, who nodded, and they both jumped toward town, Keitaro using his ki feathers to create platforms for them to run on.

…

They found Mutsumi unconscious outside of the pile of ashes she used to live in. Apparently she had left on the kotatsu while she went to get mail, and fainted outside.

"Thank goodness she's okay, but where's she going to live now?" Keitaro asked.

"Keitaro, you own a girl's dorm..." Motoko deadpanned, "It's not like there's no choice for her."

"Well, I don't want to seem rude or anything," he said, thinking of how she would feel being invited to live at his home.

"She isn't exactly adverse to you..." Motoko continued, as they started back.

…

It was just past sunset. Mutsumi was too heavy for them to jump back to the inn, so Keitaro carried her piggyback-style while Motoko walked beside him. As they were climbing up the stairs, they saw an unconscious form by the tea shop.

"Is that Kitsune?" Keitaro asked, "She hadn't been drinking much recently, maybe she went out?"

"I'll check," Motoko ran ahead and gasped at what she saw, "Keitaro, get over here, now!"

Keitaro ran as fast as he could with Mutsumi on his back to the prone figure on the steps. When he saw whose face it was, he collapsed, Motoko catching Mutsumi's comatose form and hurrying her inside the tea shop, laying her inside.

"Haruka..."

…

The door to Hinata-sou was torn open, and there were signs of struggle throughout the house. Motoko and Keitaro could hear screams coming from upstairs. Both warriors took off up the stairs, following screams they now recognized as Su's and Shinobu's.

Eventually, they made their way to the roof, where they saw Su, Shinobu, and Kitsune huddled together, Kitsune hugging the younger two to her chest, glaring defiantly at the man who was pointing a gun at her. The man was big, and had a group of four behind him, most of which were chuckling at the fear of the young girls. The two sword users hear a loud tearing to their left and looked for it's source.

Another of the men was on top of an unconscious Naru, holding the torn remains of her sweater in one hand, and was holding a knife to her throat with the other. He tossed the sweater to the side and grabbed a chunk of her skirt.

That was when Keitaro got ticked.

Faster than a blink, he dashed across the roof and grabbed the rapist by the throat. He lifted the man's sweaty face to see his and growled, "You don't deserve life."

The man tried to stab him, but he just jabbed the man's wrist, making him drop the knife. He then pointed at the man's stomach and whispered, "Anshobango-no-Yami."

…

Motoko leaped for the group of men as soon as she saw Keitaro headed for the one attempting to rape Naru. She aimed a ki attack at the one who held the gun, disarming him and scaring the others into surrender. Motoko told Kitsune and the girls to get downstairs and turned to the men when they had gone. "You are to be incarcerated tonight. I will be calling the police as soon as this is over." The look of fear in their eyes gave Motoko little joy, but was enough to let her know that her point had come across.

She heard a scream of agony from behind her, and turned to see Keitaro holding the man who had assaulted Naru by his throat, and firing a ki attack into his gut! The screams died quickly, with the man. Keitaro tossed the body to the side, and turned to the group Motoko had demoralized.

Motoko saw surprise jolt into Keitaro's eyes. Jumping forward, she barely avoided the knives the group had drawn and attacked her with. Motoko was about to strike back, when she heard Keitaro shouting.

He had reversed his hold on his sword, the red edge in front. He almost flew into the group, yelling, "No," he shredded one man shoulder to hip, "way," another lost his legs, "in," the third was stabbed, and the sword stuck in him, "Hell!" Keitaro turned to the last man, brought his hands to his shoulders, and swung them sown in an X shape, spewing fire from his arms that covered the man, igniting his body.

Keitaro turned to the man he had stabbed, who was still standing, looking at the sword in his gut in disbelief. Keitaro grabbed the handle, kicked the man off his sword, and brought the black edge down on the burning man, extinguishing the flames and chopping off the man's head.

Keitaro stood there a moment, sweat dripping off his brow before folding over to the exhaustion.

…

Torturer.

Hellion.

Cold-blooded.

Demon.

…

Keitaro woke up to a group of concerned faces. Everyone, including Haruka and Mutsumi were surrounding him, waiting for him to awaken.

Better not keep them waiting. he thought to himself.

"Hey guys," he croaked, "What's up?"

"Keitaro!" a collection of relieved screams sang through the air as all the girls, with the exception of Haruka, swarmed Keitaro to hug him.

Okay, I know those are not 'Get well soon' stuffed animals! Keitaro thought upon feeling many, many soft objects pressed upon him. Then again, is there anything I can do about it? he let himself drown in the veritable ocean of marshmallows that had suddenly decided to enclose him.

Eventually, the girls regained composure, and sat down on the various chairs and sofas in the living room while Keitaro, somewhat flustered from his ordeal, sat up.

"Keitaro, what happened there?" Naru was the first to speak up.

"I don't know, I just got angry... I didn't want them too hurt you..."

"Well, you did a damn good job, Kei," muttered Haruka around what felt like the hundredth cigarette she'd burnt since those punks knocked her out.

"If it weren't for you, those men wouldn't have been stopped," Motoko said grimly, "I couldn't get to all of them."

Keitaro looked around the room at the girls who were naming him their savior. Su and Shinobu were cuddled against each other, while Kitsune looked over them like a worried mother. Naru was quiet, apparently thinking of what might have happened if Keitaro had not been there. Mutsumi gave him a look of thanks before going over to the two youngest girls. Apparently Motoko had filled her in on her new living arrangements. Speaking of Motoko, she was looking at him with a look that reminded him of when she talked about her sister. And Haruka, Haruka was just sucking away at her cigarettes, now two at a time.

Keitaro was about to relax when he heard a racket outside that sounded like a car crashing in reverse. Everyone ran outside to see a white van tumbling up the steps of Hinata-sou, coming to a stop right in front of them, somehow on it's tires. A bloody head that looked like an older, hemorrhaging, Keitaro poked out. It goes without saying that with that entrance, it could be none other than Noriyasu Seta.

"Heya, Keitaro!" the zombie head called quite cheerfully, "Could you perhaps look after Sara for a while again?" He then handed the blonde in question over to Keitaro and started rolling down the stairs again as everyone except Haruka and Sara sweat-dropped.


	10. Chapter 9

The Gemini Movement

Chapter 9: Single Routine

The next several days were pretty normal, and not just by Hinata-sou standards. Motoko gave Keitaro a week off of training to recover from the break-in, and she herself had taken some time to relax. Motoko had taken a liking to walking around the expansive grounds behind the Inn, and could be seen from the roof if you were looking for her.

Kitsune had seemingly taken quit of the bottle, save for a small glass at dinnertime, and had thrown herself into her writing career, doing short stories of a certain klutzy ronin's antics as the manager of a woman's dorm which quickly became popular. She was also starting a novel starring a very charming modern-day warrior who terrorized the criminal underground, and and his girlfriend – slash – sidekick. When asked about her novel, though, Kitsune would always blush and ask what novel you were talking about.

Shinobu was probably the most unchanged. She continued on like she always did, wake up, breakfast, laundry, lunch, free time, dinner, bath, and bed.

Naru and Keitaro kept to their studies, though Keitaro was doing much better than before his lessons with Motoko, leading to a very confused and frustrated Naru when Keitaro would finish some of the most difficult problems, not only without Naru's help, but before her too!

Mutsumi and Sara were given rooms on the second and first floor, respectively. Mutsumi wove seamlessly into the fabric of Hinata-sou, being the eternally smiling face that could keep a person going through the day. The brunette also had the strange habit of supplying watermelons whenever they were requested, and several times when they weren't. They did, however, discover one thing that, in retrospect, made perfect sense. Tama-chan had an appetite for watermelons that put Su's hunger for bananas to shame.

Speaking of Su, she had found a reason to put the whatever – the – hell – it – was in her room to the side in her best friend and dorm mate, Sara. Though Sara only came chest – high to Su, she had an eye for mischief that turned her size into a weapon. Somehow or another, it was easy for her to disguise her waist length blonde hair at will, meaning that any shadow made a perfect hiding spot for the little ninja. At least that's what most of the dormer's thought. Motoko, Keitaro, Su, and Sara all knew of the network of tunnels weaving through every available space in the inn's structure. Of course, the warriors and the blondes never told each other what they knew, and as far as Su and Sara knew, they were the only ones who knew of it.

...

Three days after the attack, Keitaro was sitting on the roof, at the same spot grown – up Su had found him. He was laying on his back, basking in the midday sun. Though his body was relaxed, his mind was jumbled. He couldn't stop thinking about what had happened, about what he did. I could really use a break from thinking, he thought.

"Oi, Keitaro!"

That was convenient. "What is it, Kitsune?" he yelled, standing up from his spot.

Kitsune was standing by the stairs, wearing a green tank top and khaki shorts that flattered her already stunning frame, and holding a purse that Keitaro never recalled seeing her carry before. "Get over here," she yelled, "you're coming with me!"

Keitaro walked up to her and replied conversationally, "Are you sure we can time it that well?"

For Kitsune, talking clearly while blushing head to toe had long since became an art form, so it was a Kitsune that was as red as her namesake that simply smiled and said, "Follow me."

…

Motoko was meditating on a stone jutting out of the top of a hill behind the Hinata-sou. She had found the stone on one of her outings, and had found it to be perfect for meditation. The stone was smooth, and curved like a bowl slightly. It seemed that she was not the first to discover this comfortable perch.

What caused that burst of flame? Keitaro only exhibited the ability to create those black quills before, but that fire attack was flawless, if overkill. Also, he chose to dispatch some of the men with the jagged side of the sword. Motoko shuddered at the memories of the torn bodies. As soon as they went for me, his anger escalated. Could he perhaps-?

Motoko couldn't tell, but she was blushing furiously, and would likely need to spend a few moments regaining composure before she could return to meditation.

…

A heroic figure stepped from behind the curtain. Billowing around the man's lean – muscled frame was a black long-coat that fell to his ankles. It was open, but buckled at the waist. The black jeans that showed off the muscles in his legs were tucked into the black leather boots, and belted with a silver-tone chain. The gray shirt provided contrast, and only buttoned up to the last four buttons, which were conspicuously missing, but they showed off his chest. His left had was clad in a leather glove, while his right wore a biking glove, and it was not difficult to imagine the sword dangling from his hand. The spiked hairdo and ultra-thin glasses completed the look, giving the figure a serious look of badassery.

"Kitsune, I feel strange in these clothes!" Keitaro's voice whined from underneath the picture of awesome before the fox.

"New clothes always feel like that!" Kitsune stared. Actually, she hadn't stopped staring since she had first seen Keitaro after he went to change. Mind you, that was before he actually left the changing booth, but after he got some pants on. "Here, look at yourself in a mirror!" she pulled him over to the nearest mirror, glaring at the female attendants who were looking a little too long.

"I look like a video game character!" Keitaro's eyes bugged out.

"Yes, and? It looks awesome on you, Keitaro! And the best part," she pushed him hard, "is that it's functional, too!"

Kitsune had dragged him out for a run around Tokyo, specifically the fashion district. Her income from the stories was enough that she wanted to spend some on her inspiration. His hair was now shorter and spiked, and he had the means to spike it at home. He now had new glasses that looked less geeky than his old pair, and hung on to his face more. And now he was in a trendy clothing store, getting clothes that looked like they belonged to an anime character, in which-

-Keitaro rolled, jumped, and landed on his feet, and looked toward Kitsune, who flashed a V at him and smiled, "See? Fashionable and functional!"

"I think I could get used to these," Keitaro mused, impressed.

"Good, cause I have these, too!" Kitsune was holding what looked like fifty shopping bags, and was grinning ear to ear.

Keitaro, knowing better than to argue, grabbed the first bag and returned to the changing room.

…

Kitsune was skipping along happily toward Hinata-sou, while Keitaro was hauling along the bags from their shopping trip (Hey, what did you expect?). He was back in the clothes he was in when they left the inn. All things said, though, they were both happy with the purchases. Keitaro had a whole new wardrobe, including: the long-coat outfit, a red sleeveless shirt with leather pants, a robe-like raincoat, a leather jacket, various belts, several gloves, prescription sunglasses, a silver pocket watch, and a black wide – brimmed fedora (Think of The Exorcist).

Kitsune was now hopping up the stairs, light as air, while Keitaro was trying not to drop anything, or drop himself... After what felt like hours of climbing, Kitsune held out a hand to stop Keitaro, almost toppling him. They were outside the tea house.

"Hey Keitaro, go change into one of your new outfits!" Kitsune whispered covertly.

"Huh? Here?" Keitaro's eyes widened slightly.

"Hehe, only if you want to," Kitsune teased. Keitaro and her always managed to start these little debates, but it never was serious, something which caught Naru and Shinobu off guard more than once.

What she didn't expect was for Keitaro to start taking off his shirt.

…

"That damned fool!" the Lord looked from his keep's walls at the inferno below him. In the middle of it was the King, his finery restored to it's gleaming glory, dancing in the flames he had ignited. "He's destroyed the entire place for nothing but a dance!"

The Lord fell to his knees at the depravity of his rival.

The King sensed this and laughed. What is a kingdom if it doesn't serve its King? No one was in the buildings that cindered and collapsed even now around him. There was no guilt, no pain.

No regret.

…

Sickening.

Hellish.

Thief.

Demonic.


	11. Chapter 10

The Gemini Movement

Chapter 10: Single Body

Motoko breathed in the fresh scent of nature that permeated the land surrounding Hinata-sou, smiling as her meditation had come to a head.

"Soon, you will see. Keitaro..." she sighed into the wind.

…

Naru was in her room, studying. Time had passed quickly for her, so she was clueless how long Keitaro and Kitsune had been out.

…

Su and Sara were busy mapping one peculiar tunnel that seemed to be completely horizontal, yet stretched from the hot springs to the roof.

…

Shinobu was in her room, taking some time to stitch clothing for everyone, along with a few other projects: Motoko had asked Shinobu to make a gi and hakama similar to hers for Keitaro to train in.

…

Mutsumi and Tama were enjoying a nice watermelon smoothie that she had conjured out of nowhere.

…

Kitsune was frozen on the spot, watching as Keitaro stripped off his old, unflattering sweatshirt. She was not unimpressed. Her stolen glance of him in the changing booth couldn't compare to the sight before her. His upper body was excellently toned as a result of Motoko's training. Kitsune's thoughts were reduced to three syllables or less as the rest of her attention was directed at the vision before her that she was not planning to forget. Ever.

"Well, Kitsune, your turn," the man before her whispered softly.

…

Shinobu had finished her thread-work, putting everything in it's place, and decided to drop by Keitaro's room to see if he had returned yet. She knocked on his door, and heard a voice say, "Enter," so she opened the door and walked in, surprised to see that there was no one inside. Shinobu turned to leave but caught some movement in the corner of her eye. She walked over to Keitaro's desk to see what had waved at her, and picked up the curiosity. It was a quill, sticking up out of an ink bottle. It looked like it used to belong on a crow, but had been adapted to writing. Shinobu looked around for anything that the quill had written on, but could find nothing until she saw a composition book by Keitaro's bed. She picked it up and opened it, scanning it for a few seconds before her eyes went wide.

"Hey guys, we're back!" Keitaro's voice echoed up from the entryway. Shinobu panicked, sprinting back to her room and collapsing on her floor, before realizing that the booklet was still held to her heaving chest. She made to run back to replace the book, when footsteps headed up the stairs halted her. Keitaro was headed for his room.

"Oh, no! What am I going to do?" Shinobu wailed.

…

Kitsune sat down on the couch and breathed deeply. My, that was an... interesting experience... she thought as she watched Keitaro go up to his room, not that I regret any of it. Kitsune smirked to herself.

…

Keitaro walked over to his bookshelf, and picked up a book that he had bought a while back, after Motoko started teaching him how to use ki. At first glance, it looked extremely old. So old, in fact, that the casual way Keitaro handled it would make any book aficionado cringe. Upon closer examination, however, one would see that the book's worn leather cover was in fact printed onto a modern hardback cover. The title 'scratched' on to the leather design read "Metaphysical Theories and the Power of the Spirit" by a Pr. Victor Amadeus. Keitaro took the book over to his desk, sitting comfortably. He turned to the page marked by his bookmark and began to read.

'Asserted previously is the insistence that this power cannot be accessed easily. Either extreme mental prowess or emotional distress must be present for this inner power to manifest outside of the mind itself. The power, once tapped, could cause imaginary and emotional concepts to become semi-physical, similar to a gas, but it cannot be manipulated by mundane physical forces. The effect these mental forces would have on the physical world, however, would depend on the person and their emotional state at the time of evoking this power. A person who is normally calm, for example, would create a violent, but unrefined force when angry. Likewise, a typically furious person, when calm, would project a benign, but restless energy.'

Keitaro set down the book for a second and tried to imagine what the girls' ki would look like. He already knew Naru's to be a red, jittery bubble of boiling water, as it was easily visible to anyone with eyes. Motoko's he knew from training, a tightly held, but expansive silvery cloth that could stream out as wanted.

The other girls, however, he had to guess. He imagined Su's ki looked like the end of an open power line, but in banana yellow. Shinobu's had to be very calm, and almost certainly filled a room, so Keitaro imagined it looked like a swimming pool. Sara's ki took the form of a small sun, and Mutsumi's formed a large watermelon. Keitaro laughed at the sometimes-subtle symbolism he was creating. Then there was Kitsune's. Keitaro frowned. For some reason, the obvious choice, a mythical kitsune, didn't seem to fit his image of his tenant. Keitaro's thoughts were interrupted when he heard a knock at his door, "Keitaro, can I come in?"

"Sure, Motoko!" he replied. The door opened, and Motoko entered, holding a bundle of cloth. Keitaro realized that he was in the only seat in the room and immediately stood up and began to offer her the seat, but she simply sat down on the floor. Keitaro chose to be tactful and seated himself a few feet away from her, also on the floor. "So, what is it?" he asked.

"I have something for your training," she began. She indicated the bundle she had entered with. "It's a training uniform, like mine. It should be more convenient to practice in, no?"

Keitaro's eyes went wide as he picked up the garb. The gi shirt was a deep red, almost the same as the jagged edge of his sword, and the hakama pants were black. It seemed the whole outfit was designed to coordinate with his weapon.

"Shinobu took some liberty with the colors, but neither of us thought it was a bad idea. Shinobu liked the idea of it matching Kuroi Houka. I was content with being able to tell yours from mine," Motoko commented offhandedly. Keitaro chuckled.

"I'll have to try these out next time we train. Maybe we can go back to training tomorrow?"

Motoko had stated clearly that she wanted Keitaro to rest for a week after the attack on the Inn, and only five days had passed. By all accounts she should have said no. However, Motoko found her iron resolve folding under her student's pleading gaze, and decided that they'd had enough rest time. "Alright, meet me out back of the Inn tomorrow morning."

"Out back?" Keitaro arched an eyebrow, "Not the roof?"

"No, the grounds behind Hinata-sou are very spacious and have many spaces that are perfect for meditation," Motoko remembered fondly the stone she had discovered.

"Alright, out back it is!" Keitaro grinned, "Oh! Before you go, I want you to see something from this book," he reached up to his desk and pulled down the faux-ancient tome he was reading earlier. He opened it to a chapter in the front half of the book and set it down for her to read.

"This book was written by an English professor, that is to say, a professor from England, who in his time was known for studying people who could influence the world directly with their emotions and thoughts. He was intrigued by stories of telepaths and the Japanese legends that would later provide the inspiration for the movie The Spite and the game Unheard Mountain. He gained doctorates in numerous fields, including Medicine and Theology, and devoted his life to unlocking the mystery of what we simply know as 'ki.'"

"So why get this book if the Japanese have known about it for hundreds of years?" Motoko asked.

"Because, his theories also incorporate ideas and concepts from all over the world. Look here," he pointed at a paragraph on the open page, "'Throughout the years, vocal commands have been used to make certain 'powers' come to life. However, in very few cases are these commands in the native language of the person using the power. Normally it is a secondary language that is far removed from the person's native tongue, such as Latin to a person who speaks English. These words evoke the emotion and concentration necessary to create the force, as the speaker must focus his heart and mind on what he is saying. However, the vocal commands do not need to be related to the desired effect in any way, only that they create the mental effect needed. There are a few languages where the rule of seperation from the language does not apply. The people of the Orient can manipulate this energy, which they call ki or chi, using vocal commands of their own tongue, as the lettering of these languages each hold a religious significance.'"

"So what is your point?" Motoko asked, "It says there that the Japanese have used their own language to perfect effect." To demonstrate, she drew her boken and twisted it slightly, muttering, "Shinku-zen." A small arc of wind formed and flew a few feet across the room before dissipating.

"That's true," Keitaro's smile never left, "but watch what I learned to do after I read that!" He sat up and held his right hand in a fist over his left shoulder. He then dug some change out of his pocket and tossed it in the air. As the coins fell, he yelled in English, "Black Lash!" and swung his fist in a line from his left shoulder to behind his right hip, and from that arc came a flurry of night-black tendrils that whipped each of the coins into the wall before returning to Keitaro. Keitaro came to rest while the coins made their tortured way to the floor, some rattling for a few seconds before coming to a rest. In the meantime, Motoko just watched in awe.

…

The man tugged at his leather jacket nervously. He didn't like the look of the man in front of him at all. It wasn't that he was ugly or cruel looking, or anything, but whenever a man dressed in a ten thousand dollar suit walks into a mob bar without even hesitating and asks to see the gang leader on 'business', said gang leader starts to get jumpy. Especially so when the only one who looks at this man in the whole establishment is the one he's expecting to see.

"Youniku, how nice to see you!" the man shouted jovially. He wore a royal red silk suit that looked like even the buttons were tailored for him. Youniku spotted gold cufflinks and tie clip adorning the outfit, and yet even thought he yelled rather loudly given that they were indoors, no one payed him any mind. Damn, I'm in trouble. This guy's probably some high-end Yakuza boss... Youniku thought grimly.

The gang leader sat across the smiling man and decided to get it over with, whatever 'it' was. "So, mister..."

"Call me Sobio," the other man replied.

"Then call me Niku. What is it you want from me?"

"Oh, nothing much. I just need your gangs help, is all." Sobio replied, picking at his nails.

"What for? You look like you could hire just about anyone you wanted for any job!" Niku replied, somewhat suspicious.

"Exactly! And I want to hire you and your gang, for a job in a TV special I'm producing. It's about domestic safety, and I want the "This Could Be You" part to be authentic, thus, I'm hiring authentic criminals!"

"And what's in it for us?" the gang boss was clearly expecting a crap deal.

"How about five hundred thousand, each, and I pull a few strings to get your buddies out of jail?" the man smiled at the effect the more than generous deal had on the gangster, "I just need you, and five of your guys for the job."

Niku frowned there was no way this man could offer what he was offering without some kind of catch, "Just one problem there Devil-san. I only have four guys out of prison right now."

"Oh, now?" Sobio pursed his lips in mock surprise, "We'll just have to fix that, huh?"

He raised a cell phone to his ear and spoke, the call already in progress, "Send him in."

The door to the bar opened up, and a thoroughly confused man walked in, looking around in disbelief.

"Teki!" Niku cried, "How'd you get outta jail, man?"

"I sent for him," Sobio answered behind him, "It was easy. I could do it several more times, too."

"You have a deal!" Niku gripped the man in red's hand and shook it. Just tell us where to go and what to do!"

"It's simple, just go to this address," Sobio passed over a card, "and treat it like a typical home invasion. The cameras are hidden and safe, so don't worry about any crew. Just act natural."

"Gotcha, when do we go?"

"Tomorrow. I have to finish a fire safety special in the afternoon, so wait until sunset. Now, I have to go, so I'll see you then." Sobio then got up and walked out the bar into the night.

"C'mon guys," Niku called to his crew, "We got preparations to make!"

…

The next day, as the sun was sinking under the horizon, Niku and his men were waiting outside the doors of the address Sobio had given them.

"Everyone ready?" Niku asked, "We better make this good."

"Yeah, think of all that cash!" Teki drooled.

One of the other members spoke up, "Shouldn't we make this extra-scary? You know, make for better TV?"

"Yeah, yeah, make it REALLY real!" another said, mischief evident in his voice, "After all, truth is scarier than fiction!"

Niku knew what his men were hinting at, and felt no need to stop. After all, the actresses inside knew what was happening, so they'd be expecting whatever they threw at them. "Okay, guys, go crazy, just don't be too rough!"

Niku fingered his gun as he got ready to bust down the door. "Ready... Go!"

…

Traitor.

Liar.

Sadist.

Bastard.


	12. Chapter 11

A/N: The poem here is mine! MINE! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA! *ahem* Yeah, so no touchie!

The Gemini Movement

Chapter 11: Single Thought

The sloped tile roof led up to the flat top of Hinata-sou, the mats covering it worn in several places where numerous sparring sessions and battles had taken place. On the far side of the flat stood the clotheslines that Shinobu hung the laundry on. Off in the distance one could see the mountains crowding the horizon, and the town of Hinata sprawling out at the bottom of the seemingly endless stairway like a spindley flower.

What one could not find, however, was the warrior and her student, or the demure bluenette.

...

The door was left open, barged through. The TV in the living room was on, telling the empty room about the usual news that no one cares about. Luckily, no one was in the room to listen.

...

Niku and his gang burst through the door. Two of the gang members spread out to search the ground floor, while the other three went upstairs. Niku watched as his friends in the entryway brought back two girls, one with blue hair, the other with ash blonde. Both had short hair. Too bad, thought Niku, I really prefer girls with long hair. Though Teki ought to get a kick outta that one, he thought, eyeing the blue-head.

Niku led the gangsters with the girls upstairs as the others led back two more girls. One had, Dammit, short blonde hair and dark skin, and was making quite spectacle of herself. Holy hell! thought Niku, a sailor outfit? Teki gets his kicks and now Li gets his damn fetishes.

Then he ogled the last girl. It was difficult to catch a good look at her as she was fighting the two thugs tooth and nail. Finally the men managed to pin the girl's arms to her sides and he got a good view of her, and his eyes went wide. Sweet! he cheered in his mind, Long hair! And a nice body, too! Now it's a party!

The long haired girl saw the obvious intentions in Niku's eyes, but knew that there was nothing she could do. The men had her trapped, and the other girls weren't going to be able to help. The girls were escorted to the roof by the men, Niku figuring the roof would make for the best camera view. Had to make a good performance for Sobio.

"Okay girls, here's how it's gonna be," Niku shouted, pulling out his gun, "You three with the short hair are going with my friends here. And you," he pointed the gun at the long-haired girl, "are coming with me."

Niku led the girl to a corner of the roof at gunpoint before bashing her across the head with the butt of his gun, knocking her out. He tuned out his friends and their playthings as he put his gun away, and pulled out his knife. For some reason he just prefered holding a knife to his victim's throats, even if they were out cold.

He tore off the girl's shirt with the other hand, and admired the view for a second before grabbing hold of her skirt.

Then he suddenly became painfully aware of the hand crushing his throat and the very pissed-off man behind it. This can't be part of the show, thought Niku as the man holding him spoke at a low rumble, "You don't deserve life."

Niku was no fool. He had seen men who weighed six-hundred pound in muscle killed by knives wielded by weaklings who couldn't lift thirty pounds with either arm. Niku tried to spear the guy in the stomach, but a sharp pain in his wrist made him drop the knife. The man then pointed at Niku's stomach and whispered something, and suddenly Niku's life was pain.

Niku's eyes strayed to a point above the man's shoulder and he saw a circle of flame, and inside it was a face he knew, but now it wore a crown that the fire seemed to be erupting from. The face saw him too, and spoke to him, seemingly right into his mind.

"Why hello, Youniku! How appropriate that you're here now! I'm sure you know about your name? It means 'sheep,' and just like your namesake, you've been led to slaughter! When you get to Hell, tell them King Sobio sent you!"

As Niku's vision blacked out, he cursed the King and all he stood for.

...

Shaking off the memories of that night, Naru turned her attention back to the practice fight in the field behind the deserted Hinata-sou. When word had spread that Keitaro and Motoko were sparring ahead of schedule, everyone dropped what they were doing and ran out back. Kitsune even left the TV on in her haste, to drag Naru out. Keitaro was wearing the training garb Shinobu made for him, and it was apparent in his improved mobility that it was a choice of outfit.

"Alright!" Keitaro shouted, "Try this!" He held out his hand like he was carrying an invisible orb, and several small fires ignited around his hand, "Blaze Orbit!" The fires started spinning around his hand as he threw the whirling inferno toward Motoko, who dodged most of it. Her sleeve, however, suffered some singeing.

Motoko spun in midair, spouting multiple Vacuum Blades at Keitaro, who blocked with his Katana.

Naru frowned. These fights were so pointless. It had been months since they had studied together, and Keitaro was bound to fail the exams, and then what? She flinched as Kitsune shouted out, "Keitaro, I'm feeling lucky!"

Keitaro turned a grin toward the assembled audience and said, "Alright then," he raised a hand to the sky, "Chaos Dice!"

Two red cubes shot from his hand and burst into flame, forming two flares in the sky.

...

"Yes! Snake Eyes!" hissed Kitsune.

...

Keitaro shouted, "Bite!" Both fires suddenly darted toward Motoko, halting next to her before shooting a series of red bolts at Motoko, who had to sidestep multiple times to avoid the blasts. She responded with a Rock-Splitter aimed at the ground around Keitaro's feet. Keitaro somersaulted off of the crumbling earth. As he completed the flip, he swept a plume of flame from his arms, temporarily blinding Motoko, letting Keitaro draw his sword and bring the jagged edge to her neck.

The battle was over. In a practiced motion both warriors backed away from each other, bowing their respects as the crowd cheered, except for Naru.

"When did Kei get so good at not getting beaten senseless?" Mutumi pondered to no one in particular as everyone but Su face faulted.

"How did you not notice that until now?" growled Kitsune.

...

Where'd it go where'd it go Gotta find it where'd it go where'd it go where'd it go where'd it go where'd it go where'd it go where'd it go Knock knock where'd it go where'd it go Gotta find it where'd it go where'd it go Knock knock where'd it go where'd it go Gotta find it where'd it go Knock knock knock where'd it go where'd it go Gotta find it where'd it go where'd it go where'd it go where'd it go where'd it go where'd it go where'd it go where'd it go where'd it go where'd it go Gotta find it where'd it go where'd it go where'd it go where'd it go Gotta find it where'd it go where'd it go...

Thunk Thunk

"Oy Keitaro! What's the ruckus?"

"Oh, sorry Kitsune. I was just looking for something. Did you need anything?"

"Nah, but Shinobu wants to talk and you about scared her to death when you didn't answer her before."

"Ah- Sorry Shinobu. Just a second, please!"

...

"Okay, Shinobu, come on in."

Shinobu walked in, trying desperately to seem calm as she moved to the center of the too-organized room. Obviously he was trying to cover up the fact that he was tearing up his room looking for something.

And I know what, Shinobu fought off a fresh wave of guilt as she reminded herself that Keitaro's book was still hidden behind a row of books in her bookshelf.

"Shinobu, is something wrong?" Keitaro interrupted Shinobu's guilt trip with concerned words and a worried look, slightly surprising Shinobu with both his perception and the contrast...

"Shinobu?" another jolt brought Shinobu back from her contemplation of her manager.

"Oh, sorry sempai," Shinobu babbled, "I was just thinking about something."

"Oh? What of?" Keitaro inquired as he led her to his desk chair.

"Just a... book I read," replied Shinobu's conscience through her mouth.

"Cool, cool," bantered Keitaro, "So, what brings you here?"

"I just wanted to talk. Alone," Shinobu's eyes flickered with all the implications of the innocent phrase she just turned.

Apparently Keitaro's did too, as the slight leak of blood on his lip gave away, "Care to be more specific, Shinny?"

If Shinobu weren't already seared red, she would have blushed deeper at the nickname. She scrambled to restore some level of togetherness.

"I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I..." Shinobu's brain froze up as she tried to form a sentence, or even string together two words.

What's your problem? He's waiting for you to say something and you're just sitting there stuttering! I'm nervous okay? Well no duh! You've been wanting to say this for years, and now you're blowing your chance! Well god forbid I'm nervous when I'm about to- Screw it I'll do it myself!

Shinobu lurched forward and tackled a suddenly very surprised Keitaro.

...

Naru was in the dining room, reading every book on dream meanings she could get her hands on.

"Hunter... 'Pursuing an inner desire.' Black deer... 'Repressing your feminine side.' Fork in a road... 'Making a choice.' Other hunters... 'Indirectly approaching a situation..."

Naru stared at the notes she had taken for a moment.

"What the hell? This makes no sense!" Naru's forehead impacted the sole clear surface of the table.

...

Well here's a surprise!

...

No, there's no way this is real.

...

Sure feels like it...

...

Knives don't feel like knives until you're dead.

...

At least this lasts until we do. Besides, you always complain about life and all. I figure you'd welcome a nice knife.

...

I only lament our life for the sheer damnability of it. I want life to be better, it just refuses to be.

...

Well it is now. You can't tell me this isn't a serious improvement?

...

Yes, actually, I can. Don't you think this is the least bit suspicious?

...

No, actually, I find it nice. It's as simple as life taking a very, very good turn for the better.

...

Until we're found out, you mean.

...

Hey, we're doing nothing!

...

My point.

...

Hey, you wanna be a spoilsport, fine, but I'm not going to pass this up.

...

Unfortunately for your efforts to hurt everyone involved, I believe it's my turn.

...

Damn. You ruin every chance this life has for improvement!

...

I ruin every attempt at wreaking hell you make. And now I get to try to fix the damage you've caused.

...

So be it. But know that I'm the only one they love.

...

People frequently love the things that will inevitably lead to their demise.

...

Go to hell, Salk.

...

I'd be glad to, but I have to leave you, dear Gauntlet.

...

Unbalanced.

Grotesque.

Rabid.

Baiter.

Incubus.

...

Mitsune knocked on the door, "Shinobu, I know you're in there! I can hear you! Shinobu!" she half-yelled. There was no answer except for a frenzied scuffling on the other side of the door.

What in the world is she doing? Kitsune opened the door.

"Yah!" Kitsune shrieked.

...

Motoko sprinted down the hall toward Kitsune's screaming, drawing the Hina Blade as she went. From the sounds of it, either Someone had snuck into the Inn, or Keitaro had done something perverted. Keitaro may have been improving recently, but that won't excuse him from any perversions he's committing now, she thought. She rounded the corner and nearly tripped over the fallen fox. Kitsune had fallen down in shock outside the door. Motoko looked inside and froze.

"Kyaaaaa!" the second scream in as many minutes rang through the dorm.

And the rustling in the room continued.

...

The King sat bitterly on his throne, watching as the clouds darkened the land, the ground turning bare and gray. The trees shed their leaves and withered. The shadows cast by the trees and uninhabited buildings lengthened and grew pitch black. Strange clicks and scraping noises started emerging from areas just out of sight.

"So dull. Just like him. And things were just becoming fun. Ah well. Nothing to do now but be bored."

...

Kitsune was the first to regain control. She stood up and chuckled as she saw Motoko passed out on the floor.

She walked into the room and saw the source of the rustling. "Tama-chan, you little scamp! You scared the daylights outta me!" she berated the turtle.

Kitsune ushered the reptile out of Shinobu's room and walked inside, "So, she's not here after all. Huh? What's this?" she walked over to Shinobu's bookshelf, where some books were all in a perfect row, as though someone reorganized them every time they took out. "Well, well. Seems Shinobu has something to hide here.

Needless to say, there was no stopping her from looking. And looking, and being appalled at what she saw.

I never knew Shinobu wrote poetry, thought Kitsune, but lord, where did this come from?

'Living in a world of contradiction

I never know an art of fiction

For filthy fact in hopes that

I might tarnish unreality

Every slight I've ever seen

Maybe maynot ever been

This sometimes truthful self-deceit

Is a golden war-flag, raised on high

A shattered black and shining mirror

Reflects me through the crystal tears

I tear my gaze away to wish

In hate for one of me to die

On one side hate, otherwise regret

None will allow the stone to set

None will let my minds to rest

When misery and chaos cry'

Kitsune's hands were trembling as she finished the poem.

"Shinobu..."


	13. Chapter 12

The Gemini Movement

Chapter 12: Single Tear

Keitaro felt around the cool cave, trying to find an opening so he could move forward, but he had circled the small space, and with every step he took the cave seemed to get smaller and smaller, warmer and warmer, until soon he was drowning in the folds of darkness that had become his universe.

There's a demon attacking me, thought Keitaro with a sudden panic, It's trying to suffocate me. I need help... Motoko...

There was no answer, except for the black velvet to squeeze him more, making Keitaro gasp in pain, crying for the only person who could save him from the... thing... on him...

Can't... think... I'm dying... thought Keitaro as a darkness unrelated to the force smothering him ate away at his vision.

...

"Keitaro!"

"Gyah!" Keitaro shouted as he bolted upright. He was kneeling on the Sou's roof, practicing with Motoko, as Su had requested the grounds for the day.

"Keitaro, you fell asleep during meditation. This is unlike you. What is wrong?" Motoko's look was on the fence between anger and concern, patiently waiting for an explanation.

"Sorry, Motoko, I just... I guess I haven't been sleeping well recently. I don't even remember if I got to sleep at all last night..." Keitaro hobbled through his response.

Motoko's eyebrow arched, "Any reason in particular?"

"I don't know, just can't seem to get myself to sleep. Either I'm just thinking of, well, everything, or I have these weird pains that keep me up all night," Keitaro rubbed his shoulder, wincing, "and well into the day, too."

"How often are the pains along your spine, Keitaro?" Motoko asked.

"It would be easier to tell you when they aren't," Keitaro muttered.

Motoko's eyes took the steely look normally reserved for exorcisms and executions, "I believe your chakras have been damaged."

Keitaro frowned. Victor Amadeus' book had touched on that, too.

'This power pools itself in the part of the body's majority that is most directly connected to the brain, the spine. This gives it a direct channel into the person's emotions and thoughts, as well as making it alike to a fifth limb. As such, this power has muscles to be exercised, and these muscles exist in a number of points along the spine, ranging from the bottom of the torso to the top of the skull. Appropriately, if the 'muscle' is damaged, the limb becomes lame. However, the means through which the muscles can be damaged are different from physical muscles. For example, one of these points could become infected with their equivalent of a cancerous tumor, halting the function of the pool and the power as a whole. Also, physical damage can result in the pool atrophying, but specific knowledge is required to be able to manipulate the pools.'

"Is there a way to be sure?" Keitaro asked, now alert, though no less tired.

"Yes, and it's quite simple. We need to meditate, but now we must circulate each of our kis between one another."

"How will we do that?" Keitaro feared a few of the possibilities.

"Hold out your right hand palm-down, and your left hand palm-up," Motoko directed, doing the same.

"Okay," Keitaro held out each hand as directed, and Motoko positioned her hands so their palms met. Instantly Keitaro felt something settle over him like a light blanket. It felt like Keitaro was sitting on a grassy hill, facing the sunset while a spring wind danced gently along his back, tousling his hair. The feeling was beautiful. He allowed himself to sink into the peaceful feeling, not sleeping, just relaxing in the bliss.

A sound came to Keitaro's attention. It was a warbling, sort of shrill, but it was far off, so he couldn't place it. But, the more he listened to it, the closer, the louder it seemed to get, until the very ground beneath him was trembling with what had now become a shriek, shaking the world until it came apart like glass. Suddenly, he was returned to reality.

Keitaro's first thought was that Motoko seemed to be afraid of something. Perhaps Tama had wandered onto the roof? She was silent, just like the times when she saw Tama, but her eyes were focused on him, not even the top of his head where Tama could be... Nope, not there. Then Keitaro realized that Motoko was looking at Keitaro in fear. Genuine, unbridled fear.

Then his hearing returned.

"Yaaaa!" Keitaro recognized the scream as the one that had ripped through the dreamland he had been inhabiting, but chose to wonder on that later, and instead rushed to Motoko's side.

…

Motoko looked at her disciple, whose hands were held out, as she had just instructed. Alright, Urashima, let's see what's paining you, Motoko placed her hands on his.

She felt, as expected, her ki flowing into her manager through the contact of their hands. Then she felt Keitaro's ki, making it's way to her torso, where she could examine it more closely, as a temporary part of herself.

Oh my, it's fighting itself! Motoko thought with a note of amazed fear. The ki bubble was quite literally striking against itself like two cats attempting to tear each other to pieces. Even odder was how each half of the bubble was significantly different. Both were obviously battle ki, and one was a seemingly inexperienced form, writing and jolting. The other was water-cool, and struck the other in precise, controlled swipes.

Motoko realized that her time to examine the ki was running short, as soon the ki would absorb into her own, with unknown consequences. She tore her hands from Keitaro's, slinging them up and away from herself, jetting out Keitaro's ki as quickly as she could. It burst out like a round from a shotgun, looking for all the world like a ball of static interference, before it split into two separate balls, one was colored like magma, where the other was shrouded in tones of the night sky. Both then collided in a final burst of the static-esque energy before petering out.

"No wonder Keitaro was having such trouble," Motoko thought aloud before turning to the man, who was still in his meditative trance, perhaps I should do this while he's asleep, she internally debated.

"Evil-Cutting Blade!" she spoke softly, but no less forcefully as she directed the attack vertically down the chakra points, that should remove any traces of the thing harming him.

Then she saw blood.

…

The other girls piled onto the roof in rapid succession. Kitsune was the first, having been eavesdropping on the pair, unbeknownst to them. She had heard everything, from Keitaro's problems to Motoko's suggested remedy, to her technique and the following screaming.

Next was Naru and Shinobu who arrived at around the same time, suspiciously.

Su and Sara, who had been doing God-fears-what in the grounds surrounding the Sou, popped out of the secret passage they had mapped out before.

Mutsumi and Tama, somehow, had appeared on the roof without anyone noticing, as per their standard.

Kitsune was quick to diffuse the situation before it exploded on everyone, pointing out to Naru that Motoko was fully clothed. Keitaro's hands were in modest areas. Keitaro seemed to already have bodily injuries, judging by the rapidly growing pile of blood beneath him. Those points, especially the last, made Naru quickly cool off. After it had sunk in that the only reason Keitaro wasn't dry as a bone right now was his healing ability, everyone rushed to his and Motoko's aid.

…

Motoko recovered from the shock of the explosion gradually, but painlessly. She realized that she was off to the side of the major bustle of activity. She reasoned that the blood from before was not of Keitaro's usual wounds. She brought herself to her feet and walked over to the assembled group to see what was going on.

Keitaro's back had several cuts, each bleeding profusely. They all were around four inches each, and were clean lines.

"He was like this when we got here," Su said from somewhere around Motoko's knees. Su stood from where she had been squatting and continued speaking as Motoko continued looking at Keitaro, "He seems to be fine, though the cuts are taking a while to heal."

Motoko listened to Su continue describing the harsh sight while scanning her student for more damage. She looked over his head, making sure there were no head wounds, the legs, right arm, left arm, the hands...

"Wait, move!" Motoko moved toward Keitaro's left side, picking up his hand, finding a string of words carved into his hands in freshly-healed lacerations, "If you want to read, write some more."

"The bleeding's stopping!" Sara cried, and indeed it had. As soon as the message fell from Motoko's mouth, the slashes on Keitaro's back clotted immediately.

"What manner of demon has infested you?" Motoko asked as the world disintegrated around her.

…

Kitsune knocked on Keitaro's door, something which seemed to be happening more and more often recently. Normally Kitsune would call Keitaro into her room for a round of 'Who can flirt the other into submission?' Now she was going to his room, it seemed like every other day now, to talk, about each others lives, everything. Kitsune was astounded to find out that Keitaro had a sister who was away with Granny Hina. From what Keitaro told her, Kanako sounded like the little sister everyone wishes they had, even if she was an adopted sister.

Meanwhile, Keitaro was equally surprised to find out some of Kitsune's past. She was an Okinawa native, like Mutsumi, but moved to Osaka when she was seven, where she picked her distinct accent. In school she was, surprisingly enough, a reserved, scholarly girl. She even graduated as salutatorian! "But," she explained after Keitaro asked why she she didn't go to college, "After all that, I realized that my whole life up to that point was just study and I was sick of it! After I left Okinawa I lost my only friends, and I never made new ones in Osaka. Once I moved here I reinvented myself as a party girl, but I never made it as good as I thought I would. Most guys just saw me then and saw just what I thought I wanted to be, a bar chick," she said sadly, "So I ended up hanging around Hina house, drinking and doing nothing, really. All to escape from the fact that I wasted my opportunities at friends for the longest time. So now, I just live it up to make up for lost time. Gotta make the most of life while you're alive, you know?"

Of course, now was the present, and Keitaro had invited her in.

"Hey, Keitaro, how are ya doing?" Kitsune called as she strode into Keitaro's room.

"Meh, same old, same old. You know how it is," was Keitaro's response.

Kitsune slid on the flawless face of 'Really, now? I think you're not telling me the whole truth' and said, "Really, now? I think you're not telling me the whole truth. Just what is your 'same-old,' anyway?"

Keitaro's perpetual happy face took a bit of damage at that assault, yet still held, "What do you mean, Kitsune?"

"I mean," Kitsune's voice raised a notch, "that I'm not blind! I've seen you limping recently! I see when you wince just standing up! You look arthritic, and you're twenty damn years old! What is wrong with you, Keitaro?" By now Kitsune was sobbing openly, partly because of seeing someone in such pain and doing nothing about it, and partly because she had to lie to someone she cared about to cover up her eavesdropping. In reality, none of the things she had said were obvious at all, unless you knew to look for them. Even Motoko chalked the sleight hesitation in Keitaro's movements to the marks on his back, and the pain hiding beneath his expressions to the traumatic events of the last several weeks.

"So you see that, huh?" Keitaro relented to Kitsune's teary face, "I guess I couldn't hide it from you, eh?"

"So what is it? What's wrong?" Kitsune pressed. She wanted to find out what was wrong with her manager so she could try to fix it, damn it!

"Motoko thought it was a ki infection on my chakras, and tried to get rid of it, but the pains are still there, and I've been having trouble sleeping for over a month now, so I don't know what it was.

"Well that's simple. No, really!" Kitsune insisted to Keitaro's disbelieving stare, "Here, turn around!"

This can't be good, groaned Keitaro as he did as she asked, Oh, no here it comes, he thought as he felt Kitsune's hands on his shoulders.

Then his shoulders were being bathed with warm water. Actually, scratch that, that's just what it felt like. Kitsune was kneading the muscles in his shoulders with practiced precision, quickly reducing the tissue to mush.

Sheez, he's tense, thought Kistune as she started rubbing his upper back, careful not to agitate the marks, No wonder he was in pain like that, I can barely tell the muscle from the bone.

Keitaro, meanwhile, could hardly form a thought to marvel at his current situation. The most intelligible phrase his mind came up with was something along the lines of 'Larlalf... Hthligbluedrl... Blidlhavatlirl...'

Obviously he was enjoying himself. After a while of Kitsune's pampering, Keitaro started snoring, still sitting hunched over.

Wow, I can still put people to sleep, huh? Kitsune thought as she laid Keitaro down in his futon. Guess with me around he won't have any trouble sleeping, she giggles evilly at the implications of her not-so-innocent innuendo.

…

Motoko was sitting in the middle of her room, writing as quickly as she could while still being legible. Because the author enjoys torturing his readers, the point of view has Motoko's head right in front of the paper, so you can't see what she's writing, so bite him. Motoko finished her writing, muttering the last phase as she wrote it out.

"I'm in the wrong, but you have a right to know about this. I don't expect you to understand why, though. I am sorry. Love, Motoko."


	14. Chapter 13

A/N I'm alive! Yeah, cliche, but it's been over a month since I last posted and I was starting to feel lazy. Anyway, here's the newest chapter. Enjoy!

The Gemini Movement

Chapter 13: Single Sorrow

Keitaro shrugged off a sense of foreboding as he approached the third-floor door in Hiunata-sou. He had every reason to be there, and frankly, he didn't feel completely safe telling the others about it. Chances are they'd attack him, abandon him, or worse yet, be afraid of him. In fact, it was a risk telling her, but not saying anything could potentially be more risky. Especially after reading that note.

He rapped on the door, needing to to be heard over the din caused by his tenant and the turtle. Keitaro thought fondly, If she didn't antagonize that turtle so much, things would be much quieter around them.

"What is it?" cried a somewhat panicked voice from the other side of the door.

"Hey, it's Keitaro. Can we talk for a minute?"

"Oh, of course Kei-kun!" Mutsumi finally appeared in the now-open door.

She looked a bit unkempt, as though she was just in a wrestling match with Sara, though Keitaro knew this to be impossible, as she, Su, and Shinobu were on a school trip to the local museum for the umpteenth time.

Su had the foresight to sneak in a couple electronics in her bag, though, as anyone who knows Su can tell you, a lunchbox filled with Su's brand of electronics could bring several nations to their knees. As it was, all she had was an mp3 player, video player, DVD player, TV streamer, camera with night vision, satellite phone, GPS, ebook reader, internet capable computer, video game system, speaker system, and various live feeds to hidden cameras throughout the town of Hinata on one hand-held device, and a text editor on the other. Girl's got to stay organized, after all!

Mutsumi struggled with the turtle seemingly trying to burrow her way into her head. As explanation, all she could say was, "Densuke versus Orangeglo..."

Keitaro considered asking, but shook his head instead, leaving it up to the many mysteries of Mutsumi.

Mutsumi looked up from her slightly embarrassed expression, "You said you wanted to talk?"

"Yeah," Keitaro's mind returned to the task at hand, "Can we talk outside?"

…

Motoko finished sealing the letter, and tucked it away in her gi before walking over to the rack she kept her swords on. She reached for her boken before halting, instead picking up the Hina Blade. She stared at the blade for a moment before starting toward the roof. She needed to perform some katas to calm her nerves.

…

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Mutsumi leaned against the back wall of the Hinata-sou, where Keitaro had requested that they talk.

Keitaro was silent for several moments while he considered his words, but Mutsumi waited patiently. If he needed time to figure out what he wanted to say, she was happy to wait. It was very pleasant to spend some time with Keitaro, as it had seemed he was always so busy with inn business since she moved in.

After around a minute, Keitaro finally spoke. "Mitsune, do you think I could ever..." his breath hitched for a second, as though it physically hurt to continue, "Do you think I could hurt someone? Like the girls, here?"

Mutsumi's face fell noticeably, and her eyes switched from happy and contented to worried and horrified. "What do you mean? You couldn't, I mean..."

"I killed six people!" Keitaro shouted, "I tore them to pieces with no hesitation!" his words began fading out, "I'm a monster..."

…

On the roof, Motoko was on her thirty-some round of katas when she heard someone shouting on the grounds behind the Hinata-sou. Recognizing Keitaro's voice, she rushed over to the nearest edge she could find to the source of the noise, which was a remote little perch that gave a nice view of the area behind the inn. What she heard disturbed her.

She saw Mutsumi and Keitaro. Keitaro was shuddering, seeming to have a breakdown, and Mutsumi looked as surprised as Motoko felt.

Mutsumi hurried to his side and hugged the man, calming him down as best she could. Motoko couldn't hear what she was saying, but she assumed it was words of comfort in an attempt to calm Keitaro.

Then Keitaro started speaking again, but his voice was quiet and shaky, so Motoko could only catch an occasional 'Dreams,' 'So horrible,' along with some other things she just couldn't associate with her manager, all building in volume until he burst out with, "Why the hell would I dream that over and over again if it wasn't there? It's in me! I'm not safe to be around if that's what I am!" before he went completely into hysterics.

Mutsumi held him again, thankfully not passing out, and Motoko felt a stab of pain for her manager. What had happened to make him feel like this? Does this have to do with the demon?

Motoko's pondering were interrupted when Keitaro suddenly drew up and embraced Mutsumi, holding her lips to his.

Motoko's thoughts stopped, replaced with a high pitched buzz. She stumbled slightly from the edge of the roof and took the message she had written out of her gi, and stared vacantly at it until tears began pouring from her eyes. She ran to her room, a place of refuge in the sudden turmoil that had suddenly engulfed her.

…

The Lord sat on a low hill at the edge of the city he now ruled. He looked over the spindly trees, striking a sharp contrast to the gray stone of the buildings behind them. The way the sunlight was made even and easy on the eyes by the overcast sheet of clouds covering the sky. The Gothic architecture of his castle loomed just over the iron shingles of the other buildings that lined the deserted land.

Deserted, that is, except for the Lord and the King, who currently was in the surrounding woods, doing God knows what.

All in all, thought the Lord, quite peaceful.

…

The King was pacing in a small opening in the woods, not very far from where the forest bordered the city. He was furious, as he normally was when the Lord was in control. He was muttering to himself, which he found to be the best way to reflect on his thoughts.

"There is no way I can maintain any kind of control while that, that bore is sabotaging me! I have to figure out a way to burn away this gloominess!"

Then the King grinned, and anyone who has ever seen that kind of grin can tell you that it normally means something is soon going to be disassembled. Violently.

"That's it! Burn it away! I'm sure I could create enough flame to drive it away!"

And with that, he barreled toward the city, conjuring as much flame as he could, which is a very considerable amount, as he went. He burst into the outskirts of the city, only about thirty feet away from where the Lord was, and sprinted straight toward the city, flinging fire in every direction as he went. Oddly enough, the stone that the buildings were made of caught fire, and burned as though they were made of paper, reducing the city to half it's original size in less than a minute. From out of the ashes, buildings began rising, spiral towers and grand villas and taverns of every description began filling the streets. Everything that reconstituted from the ashes was painted in bright oranges and reds, giving the impression from a distance that the entire town was up in flames.

However, as suddenly as this all happened, it all snapped back, including the King, who was bodily thrown to the steps of a morose-looking church, and heard a voice rumble in his mind, "The time has not yet come for your return."

The king's eyes widened at the trespass he had just committed, bowing and grovelling toward the church, "I'm sorry, my God. I had not intended to..."

"And yet you did," replied the voice, "I shall not allow another violation like this again from you, understand?"

The King bowed as low as he could while the gray-toned decor that belonged the the Lord sprouted around him.

…

Keitaro ran to his spot on the roof, his mind a flurry of emotion. Oh my god what did I just do! he screamed to himself, I just kissed Mutsumi! This just proves me right about my dreams! I can't be trusted to be around the girls.

Then he noticed a rolled scroll with a simple wax seal on it. On the outside was a messy but recognizable 'Keitaro,' so he picked it up and opened it, reading the message inside:

Keitaro, I hope that if you are reading this, I at least had the courage to give it to you myself. I have recently realized that I have committed a dishonor toward you in keeping the truth from you. You see, I believe I have recently developed -here were several phrases, each crossed out and then reattempted- romantic feelings for you. I wouldn't blame you in the least if you paid me no heed, or outright turned me down after all the torture I've put you through the years. I won't ask for forgiveness, however, and will allow you to make your own choices. It would simply be dishonorable if I kept this from you any longer. I'm in the wrong, but you have a right to know about this. I don't expect you to understand why, though. I am sorry. Love, Motoko.

Keitaro read and reread the letter, making sure he hadn't misread or simply took it to be something it wasn't. But after the third try he gave up. There were no two ways to it, Motoko had just admitted to loving him. Absolutely unthinkable under normal circumstances. Then again, things recently had been anything but normal.

"I'll think on it tonight..." Keitaro said as he settled onto the edge of the roof to clear his mind.

…

Su was at work in her lab less than twelve seconds after she arrived home from the school trip. The Project MONO had taken shape, looking like a tennis serving machine made from matte steel. There was no triple-eye emblem on this machine, however. It was a perfect example of 'All work and no play.'

Su ran a few more calculations make sure her calculations were as accurate as they were the last time she checked them.

"It's done," she said softly, eying the invention, "It's finally done. Soon, I can help."

…

The Lord still sat in the same spot he had been when the King had attempted to blaze through. In fact, he hadn't even batted an eyelash at the spectacle, opting instead to produce a glass of wine from his robes, sipping it as the King tried to burn down his city, and suffered the recoil of trying to move out of turn.

"What a fool," he commented dryly as he finished his glass, "The Balance exists for a reason, yet you try to instill your chaos during my reign anyway. I wonder when you will learn, my dear."

He then brought a dagger out from his sleeve. It was actually two bladed, edges facing away from each other, so it formed a dual-edged and two-pointed blade. The Lord dug the tips into his wrist and twisted the blade, holding the wound over his glass until it was full again, when the wound immediately stopped, not even a scar giving away that it had been there at all. He then began to sip again, watching the diluted light of the sunset on the horizon.

…

Kitsune was helping Shinobu in the kitchen, as during her years as a straight A student, she had picked up some good cooking skills, but they had grown rusty from non-use, and no matter how much she practiced, she simply couldn't cook if she had any alcohol in her system.

Shinobu was making a fruit salad for dessert, or more specifically, Shinobu was making the actual dinner, and then would assemble the fruit salad after Kitsune cut up the fruit. Because they were making for seven humans, a turtle, and Su, there was a lot of fruit to chop. Especially bananas.

Kitsune was around halfway done with the oven-sized pile of fruit, when the temperature seemed to drop steeply. Kitsune shivered and turned to Shinobu, "Did you just tell a bad pun?"

Not two seconds before, Shinobu had been looking through the spice cabinets, and proclaimed that she was, "out of Thyme," but chose not to let Kitsune know that.

Oops, thought Kitsune after Shinobu was silent, I must've come off as harsh. Maybe I should do what I intended to do. "Hey Shinobu..."

"What!" the young girl yelled as she almost spilled the tomato and lamb dish across the floor. Almost.

"Hey, kid, settle down! I just wanted to ask a question, is all!" Kitsune tried to settle the suddenly ragged looking teenager.

"Oh, okay, what is it?"

"Well, I found something in your room a while back that's kind of bothering me..."

Shinobu stiffened. "You were in my room?" she asked incredulously.

"Well, I thought you were inside, so I let myself in. Sorry," she scratched the back of her head in an impressive imitation of Keitaro, "but my point is that I found a, uh, creation... of yours that kinda has me worried for you..."

Shinobu's eyes were swirling in their sockets. Oh my god she found the costume! And I just finished it, no! No one's supposed to see that but- Her mind choked off the remainder of the sentence before she could continue, and the mental backup left her looking somewhat blankly at the floor.

"All I'm saying, Shinobu, is that before you go starting stuff like that, talk to someone. You know I'm always here to help. And you know, Naru used to do the same thing! Just don't tell her that I told you or I'm dead, mkay?" Kitsune winked.

This snapped Shinobu back to reality. "Wait, you mean she-"

"Uh-huh. I was the first to find out actually. I caught her doing it after Seta left. It struck me as kinda sad that she had to turn to that, though."

"Kitsune... Is it normal, what I do?"

"Well..." Kitsune tapped her chin in thought for a moment, "I'm pretty sure everyone around your age makes one at some point, though you're the first one I've heard of to have a whole 'other you' going for it, and I think you did a great job on it. I really like it, actually. It's just kinda dark for my taste."

"Thank you Kitsune. That means a lot," Shinobu gave a shy smile.

"No prob. But before you go acting on that 'other me' stuff, make sure you think it through, and make sure it's worth it! Anyway, all done!" she backed away from the pile of chopped fruits she had just finished, "I'm going to go see if I can talk Su out of her room for a while. Seeya at dinner!"

As she left the kitchen, Kitsune thought, I'm glad she was able to talk to me about that poem. And, she seems perfectly happy. I suppose I did some pretty morose things when I was her age too. Kitsune laughed loudly at that. Sweet sake, listen to me! I sound like Granny Hina!

…

After Kitsune left, Shinobu breathed a sigh of relief, Wow, she thought, I never thought anyone would be so understanding of... that... I didn't realize making costumes like that was so common! And Naru did it too! I wonder what kind of costumes she made...

…

Sara was in one of the seemingly infinite number of tunnels, curled into a ball. For the first time in recorded history, Sara found that she a was a victim of domestic chaos, not the cause, and so had to get away from it for a while. She had witnessed Kitsune and Naru trying to coax Su out of her tech jungle suite, only to have their heads bitten off by the young super-genius.

Sara needed some time to figure things out like why her friend was so grouchy, and had kept to herself all day. She always said that she was working on something, but never gave any indication as to just what in the hell she was doing, aside from it being 'almost done' for the past month-and-a-half.

The girl sighed to herself, something that she had noticed was going on a lot anymore at Hina-house. Things weren't as lively as they used to be. What changed? The girls were going easier on Keitaro, that's for sure, but that must have been because he grew a spine and could defend himself, coming all the closer to resembling Seta.

In fact, thought Sara, daddy and the dork have the same glasses! When did that happen? Actually, Sara thought of how much everyone at the Inn had changed appearance recently. A disheveled look was all the rage now, so having your hair parting all over was in fashion, something all the girls, and even Keitaro, were doing. Exept for Su and herself..

The last time Su had taken a break from her lab, she and Sara had gotten matching hairdos, two ponytails on the sides of their heads, making the resemblance between them even more uncanny.

I wonder what all this change means? Sara thought to herself in a moment of reflection. It's almost like something entirely new is gong to happen at Hina. Again...

…

The night wore on, heedless of the thoughts permeating everyone's minds. The train stopped at it's station, letting it's mass of passengers free as the darkness deepened. Sara was right. Something was coming, but what she didn't know was that the worst thing that could happen to them all was already there.

And one of them had the key to releasing it.

A/N Okay, so, I'm actually going to bug you guys to review, because they're half of what keeps me writing in the first place!

Second Seraphim: I haven't forgotten about that Bee Shinobu pic, so please tell me you haven't either!

Also, I'm setting up a poll! It's for the names of two characters who will be properly introduced in a couple chapters, so everyone please vote!


	15. Chapter 14

A/N Sorry, not a chappie today, kids! I did however, realize today that Kitsune's dialogue got cut short for some reason. The mystery '!' is now fixed! For some reason, FFn doesn't like streams of words without spaces...

The Gemini Movement

Chapter 14: Single Shot

The following morning, everyone was sitting at the table, taking ample helpings from the industrial - size omelet Shinobu had crafted for breakfast. Su, obviously, had the lion's share, but that's why Shinobu made such a monstrosity of an egg dish in the first place. Not to emphasize the point too much, but the thing took up most of the table. She had to use a skillet approximately the size of Gidget's shell. She used multiple cheese wheels to fill it. Multiple. Wheels.

Anyway, every one was eating the mattress – sized breakfast, when Keitaro suddenly stood up, excused himself, and moved briskly out of the room.

The girl's response was pretty much universal, Tama included. Follow Keitaro's gliding exit, select one of their other table – mates to stare at questioningly, then look back toward the doorway Keitaro had just went through. Their stares of questioning bewilderment were broken when someone knocked at the door. Only twice, and so quietly that if the normal ruckus had still been happening, they all would have missed it.

"Um, someone gonna get that?" Kitsune asked the room at large.

"I will," Motoko chimed, standing and moving to the door in a manner that was eerily similar to Keitaro's. Or rather, the other way around.

The remaining seven girls (Tama – chan, remember?) followed her progress to the door, creating a sense of Deja Vu from not two minutes earlier. Motoko vanished around the corner, and they heard talking, but couldn't make anything out, aside from the mysterious stranger not being some kind of lecher, due to the lack of human – caliber, high – speed projectiles exiting the inn. Apparently the newcomer was as soft – spoken as Motoko when she was calm.

They all heard footsteps returning toward the dining room, and quickly returned their attentions to the food, attempting to seem casual, with only a few managing to pull it off. Actually, just Kitsune and Tama, the two most skilled of the Hina girls at hiding their emotions. Until now.

…

Keitaro thought of all the hideously cliché, overused phrases he could apply to the situation. He was hidden so well in plain sight that a thermal camera would have trouble finding him. He was situated in a corner whose wall bordered the pipes leading from the water heater, effectively masking his heat signiture, if need be. Another advantage to his hiding place was that the placement of lamps and windows left his corner in a shade of dark gray, the same color he was wearing, as it were. He wasn't sure, entirely why he was hiding there, but a few moments before, he had the uncontrollable urge to remove himself from sight. His reason why was revealed a few moments later, when someone knocked at the door.

Good lord, really? thought Keitaro with no end of amusement, This will be interesting, he backed further into his shady sanctum.

…

Motoko walked back in with the abrupt house – guest, taking her seat after indicating the only available seat, which was Keitaro's until recently. They, however, chose to remain standing, asking when Keitaro would be back. Everything had reached an uncomfortable silence when someone whispered into the newcomer's ear.

"Hello, Kanako – chan."

Closing her eyes, the latest addition to the Hinata – sou replied, "Hello, big brother."

…

"Oh my goodness Keitaro told me so much about you but you're so much cuter in real life oh my god would you be my sister too Ahh welcome to Hinata sou!" Kitsune spouted all in around half a breath as she all but strangled Kanako Urashima in a hug that the black - haired girl was clearly uncomfortable with.

Only a few of those present could follow the gibberish, and only one of them saw something to comment on in it. "Wait a second, you knew Keitaro had a sister? Why didn't any of us know about this?" Naru asked with a distinctly offended glance at Keitaro, who had been effectively glued to his stepsister's side since their disturbing – if – they – weren't – related – but – still – pretty – damn – creepy greeting.

"Well, you never asked," he replied sheepishly.

Naru again became painfully aware of just how out of touch she had become with Keitaro. She barely knew him anymore, it seemed. She took a good look at the family member she didn't know Keitaro had before now. She looked like she could be Motoko's sister, or Shinobu's goth twin. She wore her ebony hair at shoulder – length, with two locks coming partway down her front, framing her face. Her skin was porcelain – white, glowing in the barest of light. Her paleness was emphasized by her choice of clothing: a Victorian era black – lace dress. Her blouse continued the monochromatic contrast with a white blouse and stockings. The overall effect was that she was pretty at first sight, and the more you looked at her, the more her beauty stood out.

"So, Kanako, let me introduce you to the girls," Keitaro said to his, apparently Siamese, sibling, "This," he indicated Kitsune with his free arm, "Is Mitsune-"

"-Call me Kitsune," she cut in.

"Yeah. She's heard about you from me, as I'm sure you can tell. This is Motoko, who I believe you met at the door."

"Hello, Urashima – san," Motoko bowed politely.

"Naru..." he continued.

"Hi," she said a bit absently.

"Shinobu..."

"..." Shinobu just nodded.

"Mutsumi..."

"Hi there!" she beamed at Kanako.

"Sara..."

"Yo."

"And Su... Su?" Keitaro looked around the room, "Hey, where's Su?"

Sara blinked and did a double – take to the seat beside her. "Huh? Where''d she go?"

"Umm... Well, that can wait 'til later, huh? Let me show you to your room." He stood, somehow managing to lift both his and his sister's weight effortlessly. Kanako did, however, take pity on him and walk the way to the upstairs rooms, though she never lessened her contact with Keitaro.

"Well, she's interesting!" Kitsune commented once they were out of sight.

"Yeah, but does anyone else think they seem a little too close? Like they're not just brother and sister?" Naru wondered to the others.

"N – Naru!" shouted Shinobu, "There's no way he'd do th – that!"

"Yeah, Naru, that's pretty sick," frowned Kitsune.

"Hey, it's not my fault she's been literally draped over him ever since she's got here!" Naru shot back.

"She's a sister who's missed her brother!" shouted Kitsune, now very nearly face to face with her friend, "No wonder you think he's such a pervert, you're a pervert yourself!"

Everyone else froze still at this new development in the debate. Kitsune, however, just kept glaring at Naru, who was decidedly uncomfortable. What? I'm the pervert? What the-

"Yeah, Naru, you heard me. You string the poor guy along, never accepting the feelings he's made obvious on- Just how many freakin' times has that boy asked you out, anyway?" Kitsune was half – stuttering by now, enraged as she was.

Naru couldn't reply, but that didn't stop part of her mind from agreeing with Kitsune, and informing the part that was holding onto her pride about it.

She's right, you know. You never tell him 'no,' but you never agree to go out with him! Well, he's a pervert! Why should I date him anyway? Because you love him. No I don't! You know, you can't lie to me. I am you... Doesn't mean it's true! Isn't it called self-delusion when you lie to yourself? There's also this thing called denial. I think denial is more applicable here. Especially since I'm your subconscious, and I can't lie to you about stuff in your mind. Just saying. How do I know you're not lying? Hey, I'm just your inside self, so I'm just looking out for you... me... us... whatever, you get it. But, but, I don't, there's. Just admit it already. You love him. Yeah... I know I love him, but how am I supposed to tell him, huh? Well, that depends on the mood you're trying to set. You could ask him to dinner, or you could ask him to your room, and be in the middle of changing- No! Quiet, now! -and give him a hug, forgetting to finish changing- Shut up! Shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up- -and be sure not to hit him when he gets 'excited'- -shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up- -and show him just how nice you can be- shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up!

And despite her protests, she did find the idea... tempting...

While this whole mental tirade was occurring, the others took Naru's blank expression as indication that things were done for the time being, and left for their usual activities, only Kitsune staying for a few minutes, still glaring, to observe her effect on the stubborn girl. Eventually, though, she left to blow off steam, and perhaps chat with Keitaro's sister.

…

While the soap opera in the living room was unfolding, the two siblings were discussing the younger's sleeping arrangements. Kanako immediately protested any bed that wasn't in the same room as Keitaro's, claiming that setting up a separate room would be too much of a hassle.

"It would be inappropriate for us as siblings to share a room, you know," Keitaro chided his insistent sister. (A/N Insistent sistant. Sistant tister. Stister sinant-er. Ugh, tongue twister in text form... In-sis-tent sis-ter.)

"Please, Onii-chan!" Kanako begged, grappling onto his waist while Kuro finally made his appearance on top of Keitaro's head, mewing contentedly as he nestled into the brown mess of hair. Luckily, Keitaro only chose to spike his hair whenever he left the inn for any of various errands, so Kuro didn't impale himself.

"I just want to be close to my brother after we've been apart for so long!" Kanako knew she was playing dirty, but honestly, she didn't care.

Keitaro did some quick reasoning in his head. Kanako was his sister, so it wasn't objectionable for them to sleep in the same room. In fact, when they were younger, and his parents had just adopted Kanako, there were only two bedrooms in the house: his parents' and his. He ended up sharing his room with his new sister for a few weeks until they moved into a larger house. All said, there was no reason they couldn't share the room.

Save the possibility of execution. He could say with quite a lot of surety that the other girls would object that set of arrangements, some violently. And, for that matter, even proposing them would make it appear as though he had conceived it in the first place. Awkward. Keitaro was sure that no matter which of the girls he said it to, "I want to sleep with my sister" was going to raise eyebrows and, most certainly, fists.

Keitaro was glad Kanako couldn't read his mind.

…

Kanako was glad she could read Keitaro's mind.

Or, rather, she could tell what he was thinking based on his rather expressive face. He was debating letting her sleep in his room, and leaning toward 'yes'. The blush that formed on his face toward the end, however, had her feeling warm inside as she considered just what was running through his head. Or rather who, and in what state of dress.

Just as Kanako's head was about to combust, Keitaro withdrew from his thoughts, saying, "I don't have any objections, but you'll have to check with the others. They act as the morals committee around here.

Kanako deflated slightly at this, knowing that the others would be more difficult to persuade than her brother. However, she had Keitaro's approval, and that was enough for now.

"Well, let's go see what they think," Keitaro led her toward the stairs.

…

"So, are you gonna tell us why you called us all back here yet?" Kitsune was more than a little upset that she was dragged away from the first glass of sake she had for a few days to return to the living room.

"Not until we're all here," Keitaro replied for the third time in as many minutes, to as many girls, "We're waiting until Su's here, too."

"Well, then, where is she?" Naru asked, anxious to get to her room to think things over.

"She wasn't in her room, for once," Motoko commented, "I don't know whether to be relieved or worried."

It was then that Su made herself known, barreling into the living room with what appeared to be a futuristic leaf – blower strapped to her back. On the side of the contraption was stamped 'Project MONO' in bold black lettering.

Su whipped out the nozzle of the machine, which resembled an assault rifle in shape, except for the tube leading back to the bulk of the machine.

It took Keitaro a second to realize that the nose of it was now aimed at him, and another second to realize that she was trying to play one of her games. It was in the next second that he realized that she had a dead serious look on her face.

"Keitaro, I'm sorry I have to do this!" she cried as she pulled the trigger.

Time seemed to slow for everyone present, and their vision all seemed to get sucked toward the beam that jetted from the barrel of Su's invention. In fact, it seemed that all their thoughts began to merge into one pool of consciousness.

What is that beam made of water? Why is Su shooting it at sempai? If that girl's trying to kill onii-chan I'll kill her. Not now, not when I was going to... This is different. Why do I get the feeling I'm not coming out of this unscathed? Su... why? Please work, please work, please work.

Eventually the beam lanced across the room spearing into Keitaro's chest, the point of impact seeming to absorb light like a black hole, creating the illusion that Keitaro's body was being sucked through a hole in his sternum. His whole body jolted, before he fell to the floor, eyes rolled up in their sockets.

A/N: Okay, people, please vote on the poll. Last I saw there was a tie, and I'd prefer a majority vote before I ignore it and do whatever I want anyway, so go vote! Also, please review, all. Reviews are the fuel that makes good updates come faster!


	16. Chapter 15

The Gemini Movement

Chapter 15: Single World

Keitaro was floating in clear blue water. Over him, vast islands of cumulus clouds sailed by, their reflections dancing a gentle waltz in the serene ocean surrounding him. As one cloud sailed by, a warm light kissed Keitaro's face, the muted light of the sun giving the water a shimmering of stars. It created the feel of the shining midday sky above, and a glittering night sky below. Everything was very peaceful, from the gentle rolling of the waves beneath him to the simple feeling of carefree contentment everywhere.

"Wow, what is this place? I could stay here forever..." Keitaro closed his eyes and let the rocking of the waves carry him away.

Then a memory, so far away, yet at the same time so recent, screamed at him to get away, somehow, someway.

Of course, life's never that easy.

There he was again, suspended in a pair of infinities, fire tearing away at his right side. And again, that was the least of his worries, for to the left was-

Not what he remembered. The last time he was here, his left side was engulfed in a dark pit, lashing at him, trying to devour him. Trying to take his very soul. Now what he saw was physically the same, and was even still lashing at him, dragging, but now seemed so much more… welcoming. Instead of seeming so malevolent and hellish, it looked like it was desperately trying to take something it needed to survive.

Understanding.

The thought crossed Keitaro's mind before he even realized it, and glanced toward the fiery eternity to realize the same thing. The fire was trying to engage him. To befriend him, though it could not without hurting him. Both the sides of this strange world were desperately vying to be understood in their own right.

And suddenly, Keitaro found himself sitting on the couch in the Hinata – sou's living room. Keitaro blinked. He was used to his life being a series of nonsequiturs, but even this was stretching his limits of belief.

The next thing he noticed was that he could, think more clearly now than he had since the last time he had that dream. "Maybe I had to resolve the dream to get rid of some psychological conflict," he theorized. He decided to look for the girls, especially Su, with whom he would have many stern words.

He made to jump the first few steps, a habit he had indulged in during his training sessions with Motoko.

It took him a second to realize that his face really, really hurt.

"YOWCH!" he bellowed. Odd, he hadn't tripped like that in a while. He picked himself up, pinching his nose to stem the bleeding, and took more careful steps up the stairs, heading immediately to his room. If he knew his sister at all, (and here's a clue- he did) she would either have been at his side when he woke up, or doing something to Su that he would have to stop or else call 110 (911 for Americans). However, when he got there, he found nothing. Quite literally, there was a roof, or rather most of it. There were four walls and a floor. However, where there should have been such things as his bed or desk or, oh, everything else he owned, was bare space. He ran over to Kitsune's room to ask double – u tee eff was going on, and found the same thing: No fox, no sake, no anything.

The next while was spent doing the same with every room in the house. Even the living room was now empty, the couch and furnishings disappearing in his absence. Keitaro was now very, very close to losing all composure completely, and decided that he had to get out of there.

He dashed to the front door and started down the stairs toward the tea shop.

Or, rather, he would have, had there not been a patch of hard red dirt where the staircase should have been. Suddenly, the barren inn seemed to be a much better idea.

Actually, Keitaro thought a few seconds later, I should have expected that.

Keitaro turned away from the disappointingly bare patch of land that had previously been a Hinata – sou, if not his own.

"Yeah, it would've behooved you to figure out that pattern, mate."

Keitaro's head jerked up at the first other voice he had heard in years. No, hours. Was it hours? It only seemed like a few minutes he was dashing around the fake sou.

"Actually, that was anything but false, and yes, it was years you were in there," a second voice whispered.

Keitaro realized two things the next moment: One, these new people were reading his mind. Two, he spent a lot longer in there than he meant, apparently.

He took a serious look at the two figures in front of him.

…

"Su, what have you done?" Kitsune, knelt by the body which, according to Su, should have started moving again long ago.

Su had aged significantly in a short time. Her outside now seemed to match her intellect, and unfortunately, this meant she had a lot of aging to do. "I, he should be, I was just trying to…" she never finished any of those sentences, opting instead to leave the room.

…

"Yo," the one on the right said, flashing a 'V' with his fingers.

"Greetings," the one on the left gave a respectful, but wary bow.

"Hi..." Keitaro responded, somewhat lamely, still examining them. The one who had bowed to him looked like he could be Motoko's twin. Everything, from the waist – length black hair, to the formal black robe, to the utter precision with which he carried himself. However, there were some aspects of him that made him stand out even more. His skin, or rather, his face and hands, as they were all that were visible, were stark white, utterly devoid of any color whatsoever, and his fingers were less that of a kendoist than an artist's thin fingers. Even his irises were black. In fact, everything of and on him was either dead black or impossibly white.

His counterpart, however, was far different. His hair seemed to be a holographic whirlwind of browns, reds, blonds, and other colors flashing by whenever he moved his head. It was as though he had had his hair highlighted with every color possible, to the point that it was impossible to tell what his natural hair color was at all. Assuming of course, that he had one. He wore a set of leather armor over a short sleeved crimson tunic and loose, tan pants. Around his neck, he wore a cape that billowed around him at knee - length, despite the utter lack of wind in the area. The cape was colored a deep royal blue, and hooked with a golden chain. His skin was tanned, and his eyes were two different colors. Rather, Keitaro corrected himself, his eyes changed color when they caught the light of the red sun above them. They were electric blue when shadowed, but changed to a brilliant gold hue when lit. Strapped to the belt of his armor was what appeared to be a long and thin sword, possibly a rapier. However, he couldn't be sure, as the steel scabbard hid the blade from view.

"Done giving us the once – over?" the caped one interrupted his examination.

"Oh, uh, sorry," Keitaro scratched his head, "It's just that you're..."

"-Not quite the kind of people you're used to seeing, yes?" the monochromatic other finished.

"Y-yeah," Keitaro admitted sheepishly, "Could I ask who you are?"

"'Course you can!" the right – hand man replied, eyes glinting their strange golden color, "I'm Gauntlet, and this wet blanket," he indicated the robed one, "is Salk."

"I can introduce myself, thanks," Salk spat, "I am Lord Salk Dasklevier Thayla, former master of the castle in this area, until shortly before you arrived."

"Well, if you're gonna be formal about it..." Gauntlet grumbled, "I'm King Gauntlet Moor Laasefren Turentur," he announced theatrically, enunciating the title. "Actually, you can call me Gault for short."

"I'm sorry, Lord and King of what country? What place?" Keitaro was starting to get a headache. "Where am I?"

"Oh, my. He doesn't know yet, does he?" Gualt's face drew into a worried, pitying look, not unlike a mother saying the same thing.

"Of course not, you dolt! No one's explained it to him yet!" Salk berated him, "Keitaro, listen. There's really no easy way to explain this, but the simple answer to your questions is: You're in your own mind right now. We are the ruling class, the 'personas' that have been influencing your mind for quite a while now."

"In short," Gault continued, "We're you."

"What?" Keitaro said disbelievingly, "I'm... in my mind?"

"Oddly enough, yes. It appears Ms. Su's device transferred your upper consciousness into your subconscious brain. Psychologists would pay with their souls for that kind of technology."

"Hell, the only reason the world looks like this now is because you still haven't calmed down from that. Settle, man. I miss the green." Gault said, pacing back and forth now.

"Green?" Keitaro said as he shut his eyes and concentrated on the fact that Su was not shooting at him anymore, and felt his pulse instantly start dying down. Oddly enough, he noticed, his body had been upholding that part of the fight – or – flight mechanism ever since he had arrived here. It felt nice to relax.

When he opened his eyes, the landscape had changed completely. Gone was the blank, red wasteland he had emerged into. Replacing it was a large clearing, surrounded by what seemed to be an infinite expanse of flourishing forest. Not thick or jungle – like, but a calm and peaceful, picturesque scene of trees and short grass. The yellow sun shone through the leaves, lighting the world while not blinding his eyes.

"Now that's more like it!" Gault was basking in an opening of unfiltered sunlight, his eyes and hair gleaming in the streaming golden rays.

Salk, however, was standing in exactly the same place, in a patch of forest ground where the leaves formed a thicker barrier, giving him more shade so stand in. "True," he said, "but we really should be moving. There's someone who wished to speak with you."

"Ah, good point. We need to get going to the Church," Gault confirmed.

"Cathedral. It's the Cathedral, remember? I ruled last," Salk said, an unpleasant look on his face.

"Yeah, yeah," Gaunt drawled, "Anyway, Keitaro, you in the mood to move?"

"Where are we going?" Keitaro was quizzical at the conversation between his two apparent companions.

"Oh, not far. Scientifically speaking, we're only going about two or three inches back and down," he then started laughing hysterically at a joke only he seemed to get.

Salk sighed, "Unfortunately, it's not quite that easy. This is more a matter of what we're going to go through than how far."

"What are we going through?" Keitaro asked, more than a little curious now.

"Deeper into your mind. Into you," was the reply.

…

"Keitaro. Please wake up," Naru cried as tears rolled down her face.

…

"So, explain again why you hate each other?" Keitaro asked as they walked through the forest on their way to what Gault and Salk referred to as the 'Kingdom.'

"He's a bore," Gault tossed off quickly.

"He's a barbaric heathen," Salk shot back.

"Right," Keitaro trailed off. He didn't really see either of them that way, but they were such polar opposites, he supposed they were bound to clash.

"Of course, if you need to know more, you need more history on us, provided that you're interested," Salk glanced his direction before returning his attention to the forest floor.

"Of course I am!" Keitaro was quick to reply, "Please."

"Well," Salk considered his words for a moment watching the ground vanish under his robe before launching into the story, "the first thing that anyone in the Kingdom can remember is the Fragos Quake. The whole world was shaking when we came into existence. The whole world was chaos and pain for what seemed like weeks on end. After the world finally stopped, rain began pouring. This," he shuddered violently, "was the Somatos Rain. The rain back then... was horrible. It was unlike any rain you could imagine. The water would fall and tear at anything it touched, as though it was raining knives instead of simple water. When it stopped, the Kingdom was there, formed from the stones that jutted from the ground, and shaped by the rain that fell from the sky."

"I took the throne first, installed rule in this place," Gault broke into the story now, watching ahead through the trees. "However, there was an... accident," his eyes seemed to dim, not for lack of sunlight hitting him. "When I took the throne, the whole castle was bathed in fire. I was the only survivor. After that was a kind of... dark."

"You screwed up, and it was a good thing that I took the throne back from you," Salk bit. "Honestly, we're all lucky that you didn't destroy the entire Kingdom with your antics."

"And let's not forget what that earned you. Sentenced to life in prison for a direct violation of the God's will. You're damn lucky I decided to forgive you and release you, else you'd still be rotting there!"

"Your efforts would have been better served if you had left me to waste there," Salk seemed almost ashamed in Gault, as though he expected better from him, even if he would have been left to rot.

Gault was thoroughly insulted. Actually, just saying he was insulted was akin to saying that a broken arm was a minor inconvenience. "I'm not him," he spat the last word, jabbing his thumb in Keitaro's direction.

"Excuse me?" Keitaro was confused as to the sudden mention.

"My apologies. I had not meant to insinuate..." Salk bowed his head in Gault's direction, the first sign of genuine humility Keitaro had seen from him.

"What about me is so bad?" Keitaro asked a little louder.

"Sorry, not you," Gault finally spoke to him.

Keitaro looked over his left shoulder, then his right, spinning around once or twice before returning his gaze to his two companions. By now, he was beyond words, only giving them a look that radiated confusion.

"One thing you'll learn here, Keitaro," Gault reached over and slapped Keitaro's back, "is that nothing in this world is exactly as it seems."

A snapping twig to their right made them all freeze. Salk looked over at Gault for a second before crossing stealthily over to Keitaro's right side, drawing a knife from his sleeve as he peered into the trees.

Suddenly, a cry issued from the foliage, "I's mer! Ssixi mi Oleshehsiil hlir mi heihvs!"

"Oleshehsiil!" responded a cluster of voices, before a group of men issued forth from shadows in the trees. They were tattered rags of what seemed to be modern clothing, jeans cut into shorts, or jackets with the sleeves tied around their necks like capes. Some were wielding simple clubs, others had swords and knives. Some didn't even have weapons, brandishing their bare fists.

Before the entire scene dissolved into a mess of limbs and bone, Keitaro learned one thing. Gault's weapon wasn't hidden by a sheath. His weapon was a steel rod clipped to his belt, which he brandished at the attackers before leaping into the fray.


	17. Chapter 16

A/N: Sorry for the wait! College has been busy. In fact, it still is, but I sat myself down at my computer after seeing that Gemini has sat untouched for over a month and forced myself to write. I hope the quality is up to par, or better yet, above par! Please read ad review, and enjoy.

The Gemini Movement

Chapter 16: Single City

Keitaro, from his central vantage point of the battle, had a perfect view of the scrap. Oddly enough, none of the 'wild men,' as he dubbed them, took a swing at him. In fact, they seemed to go out of their way to keep him out of harm's way. The result of this was that they formed a wide circle around him, spread thin enough that Keitaro could see everyone in cinematic detail

Despite the wild men's numbers, though, it was Gault and Salk who led the fight. Not to say that they were back to back in a movie-style display of camaraderie and friendship. Actually, they were on almost opposite sides of the circle, each wreaking havoc in their own unique way, quite separate from the other.

Gault was who caught Keitaro's eye first, no surprise there. He had his tsubaton- Where did that come from? Keitaro thought, Sword-baton. It works, though. -drawn and was using it to devastating effect. He swung the metal rod with the ease of Motoko and her sword, breaking collarbones with flourished swings that seemed too beautiful for the pain they were causing. Others would bash in their windpipes, the victims falling to the ground, gurgling as they clutched at their throats. Still more had painless deaths, showing off their brain matter after their skulls were bashed through.

At one point, several of the men tackled onto Gault, bringing him to the ground with sheer mass, leaving only Gault's face visible. Oddly enough, he was smiling with his eyes shut, the opposite of what Keitaro expected given the situation.

A flickering light was then visible in the gaps between the assorted body parts of the posse. An instant later, a blinding flash burst from the center of the pile. When Keitaro's vision cleared, he saw pieces of ash floating in the wind like cherry petals, and Gault standing on the unmarred land where the pile of men used to be. He swung his tsubaton through the air in front of him before moving on to the nearest opponent.

Keitaro then sought out his other companion, finding the wraithlike man swinging a knife in a graceful, flowing dance. The knife, he noticed, was made of two separate one - sided blades, arranged so that their edges faced out, with about a half – inch between their dull sides.

Salk's dance of death consisted mainly of weaving the knife through the air with his complete focus on it. When the knife made contact it would pass through flesh with little resistance, tearing deep into the tissues and sending a river of crimson blood streaming down the gap in the blades, down Salk's pale arm and into the sleeve of his robe, where it disappeared.

Salk then sped up his dance, now whirling with such speed that after each slice was made, a curved line of blood could be seen arcing through the air from being whipped off the knife. None of the men had fallen dead, yet, all of them clutching their respective wounds, trying in vain to keep the blood from pouring out of their bodies.

Then Salk broke completely from the battle, stepping a bit to the side, facing the group of attackers he had yet to mortally wound. At this point, the first man who was still clutching his gash finally fell, the diagonal slash on his chest finally overcoming his ability to resist death. Salk raised his left hand, the one that didn't hold the knife, with his palm facing the wary men. Salk saw their trepidation, and smirked, letting his fingers fall, pointing toward the gathering men.

Several tendrils of blood flashed forth from within Salk's robes, the mystery of where his victim's blood had been disappearing to solved. The crimson lines hissed through the air toward the group, who had little to no time to react before being ripped to shreds with their friend's own blood.

When he was done, Salk let the fluids drop into the ground, and turned to watch Gault finish the last of the attackers with a stream of fire from his free hand.

"Now that that's done with, shall we continue?" Salk said, indicating the path ahead.

"Yeah, lets," Gault agreed walking in the direction Salk had waved to.

"Uh, hey, one second here," Keitaro said uneasily, "Just who were those people, and why were they attacking us?"

"They are fools, stuck in an irretrievable past, forever fighting to return to a utopic dream that is long since past," Salk's reply came, tempered with both disdain and pity.

"In other words, they're people who can't embrace the future for nostalgia of the past," Gault added, though with much less bitterness.

"That doesn't answer my question..." Keitaro trailed off lamely.

"We call them Wild Men around here. Don't even try to understand their language, it's nothing like ours, and they refuse to teach us," replied Gault, who seemed put out for once, his hair and eyes losing their characteristic shimmer.

"What's wrong?" Keitaro asked, seeing his companion's apparent sadness.

"He's upset that there's something he want's to know that he never will," said Salk, reaching up to rub at his neck, "The 'Wild Men,' as he calls them, refuse any form of communication beyond 'I want to smash your skull in.'"

"Don't pretend you aren't curious, you blackhearted sod!" Gault shouted in Salk's direction, "You want to know as badly as I do!"

"Yes, but I know that it will never happen, so I know not to waste my time!" Salk hissed scathingly, "Ugh, the idiocy of it all!" he complained to no one in particular.

They continued walking for several hours with few interruptions, other than the occasional break for Keitaro and Salk to rest while Gault wandered the area surrounding them. It was during one of these rests, the third by Keitaro's estimate, that he asked Salk, "Why is he always so energetic?"

"He is naïve," replied Salk as though he were telling a story, "He holds no respect for those around him, and chooses to have no thoughts about Evanidus Bonus," a story about a person the storyteller doesn't like.

"Evani what?" Keitaro asked blankly, though he had a strange feeling he would agree with Salk about whatever it was.

"Evanidus," Salk repeated, "It is the fact that all good things will eventually fade, much like a beautiful day. Eventually it ends, then your memory of it fades, and eventually all other reminders of it will disappear as well. It's counterpart is Proprius Nocens the fact that the scars of the past will inevitably stay forever. Such as the scars that you have painted away." Keitaro's eyes went wide at this revelation. He told no one about the scars that various trips through the Inn had created on him. "They are still there, are they not?" Salk continued, "The stiffness of the flesh still pulls when you move? One I particular itches most irritably, am I correct, when you feel embarrassed?" he reached over and ran a finger across the back of Keitaro's neck, along the hairline.

Keitaro backed away at the touch. It was cold as ice. "H-how did you know that?" he shouted his question half – angrily.

"Did we not make it clear before?" Gault and I, much as I despise setting our names together, are equal parts of you. I simply have more of an interest in your scars, and in some cases, the cause," he nodded pointedly at his wrists before presenting his own. They were thin and feminine, pale as moonlight, but they didn't show veins as such light -skinned wrists normally do. Instead there were numerous lines thatching across them, forming a web of healed wounds, both fresh and old. Some were simple slices, straight and thin. Others were broad and shallow, as though the flat of a knife was pressed against the skin and pulled with the point dug into the flesh. Still others were designs, ranging from the intricate to the concise. One in particular stood out from the rest, as it was still red and moist, as though it were only made less than an hour ago. A vertical line, with a wide oval crossing it toward the top in a manner similar to a crucifix.

Naru, Keitaro thought to himself before Gault reentered the small clearing, saying a little too loudly that they should get moving before all of time passes them by.

…

It was several hours before any of them had cause to stop again, though what Keitaro found odd was the fact that he wasn't sleepy. He had been there for around a day now, as far as he could tell, but the sun never moved from its just – after – noon position in the leafy sky, so he wasn't entirely sure that time even was passing.

When they did stop, it was to investigate a marking on a tree. Rather, it was so Salk coud investigate a marking on a tree, while Keitaro and Gault had the first real conversation since they had met. At first it was the usual trivialities, or at least as much as they could be. After all, he was talking with a part of himself, so he was told. Soon, though, they moved on to Salk, who Keitaro knew little of and Gault knew much.

"He says you don't know about the Evanidus Bonus," was the next on Keitaro's list of questions.

"Oh, that's far from true. I know all about his good -things – don't – last philosophy. I also know the Proprius Nocens, bad things are eternal. But you know what? I believe he's an idiot. So long as you keep good things coming, your life will always be good, and so long as your life is good, the bad things will disappear faster than the good ones!"

…

It made no sense for the two statements of philosophy to fixate themselves so firmly into Keitaro's mind, and he knew it. Nonetheless, he found himself debating the virtues of each mindset as they strode through the seemingly never - ending forest.

Salk's ideals were correct in that bad things stayed with you longer, while good things faded from memory quickly. There were times he couldn't remember a single good memory from in the Sou, but every beating was as fresh on his mind as the day they were formed.

On the other hand, Gault had the more tempting offer. Eternal happiness as long as you do things to make yourself happy. It sounded good, until Keitaro considered emotions like regret, concern, and mourning. None of them were enjoyable, but they were somewhat necessary in Keitaro's opinion.

Keitaro had the uneasy feeling that he would be having a lot of headaches while he was in the presence of these two.

It was shortly after this that the trees cleared up, and a city came into view.

Wow, Keitaro thought.


	18. Chapter 17

A/N: Okay, I'm sorry it's been so long since I updated. College is pretty restricting, and I haven't been able to get into my writing mood as a result. Thus, I bring you this extra long chapter as an apology, with promises that the next chapter should arrive much sooner! Enjoy chapter 17!

The Gemini Movement

Chapter 17: Single Church

The sprawling metropolis before Keitaro was simply stunning. Hundreds, if not thousands of rooftops were playing along the low skyline, making an upside-down sea of waves roll and crash as he began descending the hill, not noticing that Gault and Salk had remained behind.

"I told you he'd favor me," Gault intoned toward his counterpart.

"And I knew he would. Wait a day or so, however. Let him really get to know this place," Salk replied smoothly.

Gault laughed, "We shall see, ce'st la vi?" and began chasing after Keitaro, intent to catch up before he reached the city's border.

Salk shook his elegant head, turning toward the patch of wood bordering the city.

…

Keitaro hadn't beat Gault to the city, but he certainly hadn't slowed down, either. Gault had taken it upon himself to show Keitaro around. First and foremost on the tour was the bazaar, a colorful and bustling epicenter of happiness and friendship that can only be created in such a place as a market. The shop stands were simple enough, wood and tanned hide. Their wares, however, betrayed the simplicity of the stand. Jewels and ornaments, fine clothes and baubles the like could only be seen in the most extravagant of boutiques were being sold like newspapers.

"What's going on here?" Keitaro looked at Gault while nodding his head toward someone who was obviously a beggar, "Why and how is he buying those things?"

Gault smiled, throwing a hand on Keitaro's shoulder, "He is buying... happiness."

Keitaro's eyebrows furrowed, "But, isn't that-"

"-what an English idiom says can't happen? Yeah. But here, it works just fine. See?" The beggar had finished his purchase. It was a ring, silver in color with a black stone set in the middle. It's new owner was nuzzling it, brushing his cheek against the stone as though it were a kitten. Or, rather, if he were a kitten. "Happiness is something that no one can go without. It is even more important than food, water, or even air. If we go any time without an excuse to be happy, no matter how fickle it is, there is no point to life at all, which is why this market exists. To give people reason to be happy."

…

They left the market shortly thereafter, but only after Keitaro received, at Gault's behest, an outfit that may have fit Gault's definition of 'casual' but Keitaro would have deemed them 'too fancy for a wedding during a meeting with the emperor while appearing before all the Urashima ancestors and attending a dress ball.' He was trying not to look too awkward in what most men would consider a dress, but what he was told was called a Terrick robe. It was a single piece of cloth that hung around Keitaro's shoulders and crossed his chest to wrap around his back. It then fell down and around his waist to form a kind of pleat across his privates, then the fabric wrapped around his legs to form something along the lines of pants.

"And this is the hospital," Gault's tour continued as they passed what appeared to be an abandoned building, "No one's used it for years, so we just leave it. No one get's hurt, anyway, so it's best not to fiddle with it."

"What if someone does get hurt though? What happens then?" Keitaro asked, understandably confused.

"It... It just never happens, pain and simple. The only medical service that's ever been used here is the mortician!" Gault broke into hysterics at what to him seemed to be a joke. To his credit, Keitaro managed a chuckle at the apparent humor.

Gault stopped then, and twirled theatrically, "And this building is the crown jewel of my Kingdom, the most important building here, my castle included!" Keitaro now had to resist breaking out with genuine laughter at the melodrama of it all.

Humor aside, though, the building was impressive. It resembled a cluster of circular towers more than anything, where the bases of all the individual spires connected into what Keitaro guessed could be a large, four - walled structure. The masonry, for it indeed was a stone structure, was of classic Medieval European stone, arranged so they formed a spiral design running up each tower, creating a dizzying and beautiful illusion that each tower was swaying in place. At various places along the tower's faces, large squares (or at least as square as you can get on a curved surface) would reflect the sunlight into Keitaro's eyes, which he soon realized were glass windows.

But what intrigued Keitaro the most of this odd building were the doors. They were titanic slabs of dark wood whose surface curved along the walls of the towers and arranged so that the doors closed together at the cleft between two of the towers. Carved into the door's face was a mural whose intricacy was only the first of many layers of art. From across the courtyard, Keitaro could see the image of a goddess whose face was hidden or blank, her arms outstretched to welcome people in. But halfway into the courtyard, the lines and curves of the goddess' form faded into a carving of a huge celebration: men and women and children indulging in every form of merriment, a grand scene to say the absolute least.

Finally, upon seeing the doors up close, the images resolved into a massive panorama depicting an armor – clad hero posing on a mountaintop, sword thrust high in the air, the sun carving his silhouette into the skyline.

It was at this point that Keitaro realized that Gault had been leading him up to this beautiful building while he was admiring the doors. "Hey, where are we going?" he shouted at his companion.

"Oh, you haven't been listening, have you?" Gault smiled slyly, "That happens a lot. Always looking at the doors, don't ya know. We're going into the Church, seeing as it's my duty as ruler to deliver the service every day."

"Huh? So you're King and preacher here?" Keitaro asked.

"There is no 'and' there. In this place, Church and State are one and the same. Here, stand over by that brazier," Gault nodded toward his right, which prompted Keitaro to take a good look at his surroundings now that he was inside the Church.

What he saw didn't logically match with what he saw outside. Where the outside of the building had been a madman's untethered experiment with beauty, the inside was an artist's experiment with leashed madness. The entire inside seemed to be covered in gold, not polished enough to blind him, but not tarnished, either. The room itself was mostly clear, save for a number of pillars that featured an oriental dragon design spiraling up the columns, and several braziers lighting the room, one of which he was standing by. There were no pews in the building, and in fact the other people in the building were standing like he was. He recognized none of the faces, though, but all of them seemed very happy, and were chattering to each other, their collective voices echoing and combining around the room until Keitaro could have sworn the very room was vibrating with the swells and dips in conversation. In fact, he thought he saw some parts of the room moving.

Keitaro didn't have any more time to examine the room after that, for it was then that Gault began to speak from a square pedestal roughly the size of his room in Hinata-sou, and a couple feet tall. Gault's voice amplified above the others', but it didn't echo. Keitaro guessed that the acoustics of the room were different from that specific spot.

"Friends, acquaintances, enemies!" Gault began theatrically, "Welcome again to the Church, this most holy of places! Here, where all things are irrelevant save ourselves, and the Goddesses!"

This cue was apparently enough for his listeners, for they then each spread out toward one of three alcoves nestled in the walls, one on each wall, except the one that contained the door. Before he could take a closer look at them, though, Gault was by his side again.

"Care to take my rounds of the Goddesses with me?" he asked.

"Uh, sure," was Keitaro's understated response as Gault began to lead him toward the alcove to the right of the door. Along the way, Keitaro and Gault passed several people, all of whom stood separate, not crowded with any of the others, and all of them looking toward the statue, almost pleadingly.

Upon reaching the statue, Keitaro found himself astounded by it. The artistry was dumbfounding, surely, but it was the beauty of the statue itself that brought Keitaro to complete silence. It was a flirty, buxom figure that make Keitaro's heart melt instantly. She was clad in a skintight cloth that let less to the imagination than he was used to, but still left an infuriating amount to it. It took Keitaro several seconds before he remembered that he was looking at a statue, not a real person. Although, for a moment, Keitaro could have sworn the statue had moved.

"She is the Lover," Gault's voice broke the awed silence, "She is the guide of lost and lonely hearts, she is the one who creates warmth in the coldest of hearts, she is the one who holds love for all and for one."

Keitaro could see how she accomplished all these things, and found himself wishing to be the 'one' Gault had mentioned. Before he felt as though he had gotten a proper look at the Lover, however, Gault had dragged him over to the next statue. This one was of a relatively small figure compared with the Lover, but she was no less beautiful. This one was much more conservatively dressed, and had a less sexual figure, but her face shone of pure happiness, such that Keitaro could swear he knew it, but he realized he must have imagined it, either the memory, or the original face. He did use to have problems with daydreaming.

"She is the Lady Joy," explained Gault, "She is the one that all turn to for happiness in a friend. She is contentment and comfort. She is truly the wife to the gods."

Upon hearing that last statement, Keitaro looked at Gault, confused. "Gods? I thought there were only Goddesses here?"

"Oh, there are only the Goddesses, I was simply stating that the only person who could deserve her, or any of the Goddesses would have to be of godly make, and any one of her followers here would fight to the death to make sure that she gets who she deserves. Shall we see the last Goddess?" Gault motioned Keitaro to the last, and most crowded of the statues.

This last one was nothing like the others. Or for that matter, like anything Keitaro had seen before. It had been stationary when Keitaro entered the Church, he was sure, but now it seemed to have come to life and was dancing upon its pedestal. Despite the fact that she was a gigantic solid form, she made little to no sound as she frolicked upon her miniature stage. In fact, unlike the others, the last thing he noticed was her appearance, which was that of a young and carefree woman, clad in what appeared to be a light cloth robe that flowed like silk as she twirled.

"She," said Gault in his most reverent tone yet, "Is the wonderful Dancer. She has no worries of the future, nor regrets of the past. She is the ideal that so many of us work toward."

She certainly seems carefree... thought Keitaro as he watched the Dancer, I wish I could be that happy.

…

The rest of the day, and the subsequent night all flowed by quickly for Keitaro, who never seemed to get tired. By the next daybreak, he realized that he felt like he had only woken up recently. After voicing this concern to Gault, he was answered with a chuckle.

"I thought you would have figured out by now that sleep isn't a thing here, right? You were scrambling around in the inn for some three years before you met us, remember?"

"Oh, yeah," Keitaro still felt confused, but decided to give the information time to sink in, "So, what's the agenda today?"

"Today, we're going to visit the sparring grounds!" Gault grinned widely, "I think you would make a good competitor!"

"Me? Why me? When those wild guys attacked us it was you and Salk who killed them!" Keitaro backed off slightly.

"Yeah, but we only hold death matches on issues of pride, you'd just be sparring with one of the citizens!" Gault smiled back, before dashing off down the street toward te outskirts of the city.

Keitaro sighed and started following the rapidly shrinking image of his guide.

…

As it happened, Keitaro was scheduled to fight in one of the late battles, so he stood next to Gault just outside of the grassless circle of dirt.

The first match-up that stepped into the makeshift arena were different, to say the least. One was a bear of a man, in armor made from bear hides. Across his back hung a huge morningstar, whose head was roughly the size of a watermelon. The man's face was hidden, mostly by the leather helmet that covered most of his face.

The other could be best described as skeletal and psychotic. He looked very similar to the character 'Garam' from the King of the Bracelets movies, but needing more Ritalin. He just squatted in place, shivering while he covered his eyes with his hands, digging overlong nails into his face.

"The big one," Gault chimed in, "Is Reven. Great fighter, that one, bu he refuses to kill. The twitchy guy is Break. We don't know if that's his name or not, that's just all he says."

Keitaro could hear it now, the little man was muttering to himself quietly, "Break break break break break break break break."

Then, at some unseen cue, the fight began. Reven grabbed the morning star behind his back and brought it around his side, attempting to side-swipe Break. Before the blow connected, however, Break just jumped and grabbed onto the weapon's shaft, holding on with all fours.

Reven growled in annoyance and started swinging the weapon upwards to try to hit Break with the head of the morningstar, to no avail. Break avoided the hits by swinging on the shaft, and landing back on it each time the business end of his opponent's weapon clattered uselessly to hang in the air.

Reven gave up on his morningstar, instead vouching to throw punches with his considerably sized fists, but Break just latched onto his arm and bit his teeth into it.

"This would be a good time to mention that this is a pride match," Gault called to Keiaro over Reven's bellows of pain. "Reven made the faux pas of calling Break a hideous creature, which is rude, even if he isn't so easy on the eyes. In return, Break took a chunk outta his arm with tose nasty claws, and so they called each other here to settle things."

While Gault was explaining all this, Break had climbed up Reven's arm and ripped off his helmet, immediately setting on beating every square inch of skin he could while Reven tried uselessly to catch the swarming monster on his head. Soon, though, blood began to run in rivers down Reven's armor and his attempts to seize Break grew more tired and useless, until eventually, Reven just collapsed, dead, and with no recognizable facial features. Break had quite literally pummeled Reven's face into a gory paste. Keitaro felt like puking after seeing what looked like squeezed cranberries where a man's face ought to be, but Gault was only giggling.

"He deserved it, poor guy. Break may be a mongrel among pedigrees here, but he demands respect, if only for that."

Keitaro could only look at him in disbelief after that, until his attention was drawn back toward the arena, where Reven's body had disappeared, and Break was standing, clawing at himself while screaming, "Breeeeeaaaaak!"

…

Keitaro decided that skipping on the arena match would be a good idea, if only to let his stomach settle.

...

For the rest of that day, and the day after, Keitaro and Gault wandered the City, taking in the less violent flavors of it. There was a large park, tucked away, where Keitaro saw several couples walking. There were many buildings which seemed to serve no purpose except to be placeholders for the City itself. In fact, the only structures that seemed to have any purpose were the Church, the arena, the ark, the marketplace, and the assorted and various bars. No homes, it seemed, for no one had to sleep.

It was oddly familiar to Keitaro.

The girls must be worried sick about me, thought Keitaro.


	19. Chapter 18

A/N ~It's been six long months since reyin p. posted a chapter on this ol fic

And it burned inside his mind that he was kinda being a dick

In the darkest pit of limbo reyin hoisted himself up

Said "If you don't post a chapter soon them I'm gonna hafta f*** you up."~

Why yes, I do still exist! I've just been in a creative slump because all of my ideas for "Adventures in the City" went away before I could even have them. That said, I actually sat myself down and got a chapter ground out over the course of these last six months, so please enjoy and comment! Also, there's a prize for anybody who can figure out a certain easter egg in this chapter. (Ichikogawolfdemon, you are not allowed to enter. Sorry, dude.)

The Gemini Movement

Chapter 18: Single Theft

Keitaro was in a bleak, gray field, nothing in sight except for the sunless sky and the melancholy, overgrown grass about him. Not a soul in sight, save himself. He looked around, wondering where he was, and decided to start moving, to try and find his way back to Gault and the City. He was walking for several minutes before he heard the first voice, accusing him of murder. Keitaro thought at first that it was a trick of the wind, but after more and more voices joined, Keitaro became afraid, and began running away from the voices, who were all behind him. But, the further and faster he ran, the more voices joined the persecuting choir, and the more hellish and sinister their voices became, until Keitaro could have sworn that the very hosts of Hell were upon his heels, ready to drag him to the abyss for pretended sins. And still he ran, as though he could escape the wrongful punishment. But if it was wrongful punishment, why run? If he were innocent, why should he be punished?

Keitaro stopped running.

…

Keitaro looked up from the spot on the wall to find that the wall had changed. It was now granite, rather than the painted wood it had been. Keitaro turned around, and found that the wall wasn't the only thing that changed.

The buildings, which had before been colorful and vibrant, had now become dark and intricate, old styled mansions that reminded him of his studies of the Victorian London downtown, densely packed together at the center, and from his vantage point, he could see that the buildings grew more and more scattered toward the outskirts of the City.

"You are back with us, then?" A quiet voice behind Keitaro startled him. He turned around to find Salk standing there, still dressed in his velvet black robe. He was looking at Keitaro with slight curiosity, as though he was wearing strange clothes, which, Keitaro realized, he was. Or at least his clothes had changed without noticing. He was now wearing a robe very similar to Salk's, though slightly shorter in the sleeves.

"I was gone?" Keitaro asked, more than a little disoriented.

"Your mind was wandering when I arrived. When your mind is gone, you may as well not be here at all."

"Oh, then I suppose I am back, then," Keitaro laughed. "Where's Gault?" Keitaro looked around, as though expecting the fiery man to jump out from behind a wall.

"He has gone for the time being. His time as ruler here has ended, and thus, I have returned," Salk spoke stiffly.

"Oh. Okay," Keitaro felt a little let down, Gault was a lot of fun to be around.

"Did you know," Salk spoke, staring off toward the horizon on his right, "that The Family, Charles Manson's fanatical crew of followers, thought that Manson was fun to be around? That causing Manson's 'Helter Skelter' was their definition of happiness? The things which we enjoy inevitably bring harm to others, as well as ourselves."

Keitaro shuddered at hearing the American psychopath's name being used so casually.

Salk sighed, "Shall we go? At this rate we will be late for the Rituals." Salk started gliding toward the center of the City, and Keitaro followed.

…

Keitaro soon recognized the streets they were walking on, but only because his sense of direction told him they were headed towards the Church Gault had taken him to a few times while he still ruled the city. Apparently he ruled the city, though Keitaro never saw him do anything particularly monarch-like.

The streets were rough brick that was more of less buried in dirt, with nothing holding it in place, which became apparent in the numerous places where Keitaro had tripped, only regaining his balance to rip in another hole. No matter how hard he tried to see where the holes were, he never could until his foot caught in one.

It was while regaining from one of these spills that Keitaro caught his first glance of a building that loomed over all the others in eyesight. He recognized its design as a Gothic cathedral, but one that had been falling apart for years, and was being maintained, rather than repaired. Many of the stained glass windows seemed to depict various scenes of nobility, but many panels had been replaced with plates of opaque black glass. The window closest to Keitaro seemed to show a man who seemed to be of high nobility, possibly a lord, standing in a field, while a thunderstorm rolled above him.

Keitaro glanced upward and saw the steeple, and noticed that it wasn't topped with a traditional crucifix, but a similar shape, a vertical line with a wide oval intersecting it.

"Welcome to my Church," Salk bowed Keitaro toward the doors, which were simple wood, but seemed to be burned to the point of being entirely black. Keitaro pushed them open and entered.

The interior was dark, though that wasn't much of a change from the outside, so Keitaro's eye's adjusted quickly. The layout was similar to the Church he had visited before, large, open room, three alcoves with a statue in each of them that Keitaro reasoned must be the Goddesses, though he couldn't make any of them out. However, what he could see were numerous writing desks lined up against the walls, a podium toward the back of the building, and a distinct scent of copper in the air.

Without glancing at Keitaro, Salk began making his way toward the podium while numerous people that Keitaro could have sworn weren't there a moment ago started gathering around the podium.

"It will be difficult to hear him if you aren't close, whole one."

Keitaro jumped at the gravelly voice and looked towards its source. It was a short, withered, young man, who seemed to have not eaten in weeks. He was lacking the full robe that seemed to be customary here, instead wearing only dark pants that went halfway down his calves. Every inch of skin Keitaro could see, however, was marked with scars. The man's face was practically a mask of healed wounds, and his face was stiff as he spoke again, "Care to follow a tormented murderer to Church?"

Keitaro followed him, more or less because he couldn't think of anything else to do. As they joined the crowd surrounding Salk, he began to speak.

"Behold the lifeless, the loveless, these wretched spawn that swarm this world. The ungrateful and unworthy that flit about, attempting to carve a place for themselves, bastardizing the world around them, and dooming those about them to further misery. We are all part of this contagion, of this disease plaguing every other being that has the misfortune of crossing our paths. None of us is exempt, and none of us deserve the perverse happiness we have netted through the course of our lives. Any who disagree would be best to voice this, and be cut down by those who know his sins, as we all do, for their sins are our own, and our sins are theirs. We all are weak, and we all harm all others. Join me now." At this, Salk led the others in recital:

"Within the endless ice and night

I brood against the waging fight

Within my frozen heart is where

I rest myself in stark despair

And when the fallen night is here

I know that all that I hold dear

Is worthless in eventuality

And take it with me reverently

I fear tomorrow like I dread hell

Yet when I ring death's sacred bell

I willingly go forward and

I raise my bloody tarnished hand."

Salk looked to the crowd, waving his hand, "Begone," he said, and they dispersed.

"Will you be joining me?" Salk asked Keitaro as he stepped down from the podium.

"You're touring the Goddesses, yes? Sure I'll go with you," he replied.

"Here, they are not called Goddesses, as that fool addresses them. They are the Saviors in this holy place," Salk spoke as though Gault calling them 'mere Goddesses' were a deep insult.

Salk led him to the first of the three Saviors, a huge, porcelain doll dressed in silk, sitting on a throne cast from the same black glass that several of the windows had. "She is the Mistress, who brings the comfort of darkness to ease the eyes, even in the cursed day." Around the statue, Keitaro noticed that many of the Churchgoers were writing on scrolls of parchment, though he couldn't see what they wrote. He noticed that Salk had moved on without him, and hurried to catch up.

Salk began talking as soon as Keitaro returned to his side. "This is the Stalwart, who brings judgment to the scum of the earth." Keitaro looked up to see a woman, both monstrous and beautiful, with six arms, each wielding a sword or dagger. Her eyes were fierce, and were quite literally flaming; there were candles mounted in the statue's eyes. It took several moments for Keitaro to notice again the coppery smell he caught earlier, and discovered the source. A group of people were ritualistically cutting their bodies with daggers, dripping their blood onto the floor, relishing the sight, and Keitaro had to admit to himself that the droplets were quite beautiful as they hung suspended in the air in their gradual descent toward the stone floor.

Salk seemed to be hurrying him, motioning for Keitaro to follow to the last statue, which seemed to be a teenaged girl, but that was all he could tell, for she was dressed in a robe that covered her body and her face, except for a pair of very sharp eyes. "She is the Mender, who repairs broken minds. Notice the demented ones praying for her touch." He gestured to a mass of men and women, all of which seemed to be suffering some variant of paranoid schizophrenia, except for the fact that Keitaro could see and hear what was tormenting them. The combined noise made his ears feel like they were rattling in his head, and more than once he had to back away as some pale, mottled, _things_ clawed at them from any shadows nearby.

Salk then showed him out of the black doors, shutting them as soon as Keitaro had passed through. Why did Salk want him out so badly?

…

Keitaro took a walk by himself, more through necessity than by choice. There was simply no one around to walk with him, all of the residents of the City seemed to be at the Church, and it was his first time alone since he had met Salk and Gault.

He turned into a street that seemed particularly well-tended, or was it just rarely-used? Either way, it gave him a long and level pathway to start down, thinking to himself.

This is pretty weird, now that I think about it. Cool, but just strange. I feel like that girl from that show NekoOni... And this whole time They've been telling me this is all going on in my head, though, that's the weirdest thing. Wait, wouldn't that mean I'm the weirdest thing? No I'm just here, like I'm here now. But what happened to my abilities from before I came here? Maybe It's just that this world sucks the power out of me... and nobody else. Okay, unlikely. So I was either insane out there or I'm insane in here. Actually I'm insane in here either way, aren't I? So what's this whole thing about and I'm just too everything so ARGH-

Keitaro collapsed, clutching his head as it seemed to burst trying to grasp his situation.

…

"Wakey wakey! It's time to get up before I light a fire under your butt to make you! Seriously, I'll make you a rump roast, so get your rear in here."

"Haruka? When did you turn into a guy?" Keitaro mumbled, still bleary from his passing out.

"Okay, I'm pretty sure you just plain deserve to be burnt now..." the voice deadpanned, before Keitaro's robes caught flame. Explosively.

"Wow! Look at him go!" Gault cried as he started floating after the human firework, "Maybe that's why he twinkles when he flies into the sky..."

…

Keitaro woke up the second time that day by a river.

Or rather, he wish he had passed out that he could wake up. One of the disadvantages to experiencing first degree burns right after waking up is that you're too tired to pass out and sleep through the pain. That said, the pain was more reminiscent of sitting in recently brewed and then spilled tea, rather than sitting on a campfire. Either way, it wasn't pleasant, but the river quickly eased that.

It was while dunking his doughnuts in the water that Keitaro noticed another figure stooping on the riverbed, less out of necessity than that just being how he stands. Break was about twenty feet upstream from him, and while the man-monster admittedly scared the hell out of Keitaro, he himself was literally caught with his pants down, for indeed, he was now wearing pants. It was probably best to be polite.

"Er, uh, hello, Break!" Keitaro waved feebly at Break, who was now looking at him curiously. Break stood there for several seconds, his hands in the water. Apparently he had been drinking from the river. All the better Keitaro was downstream. After a few seconds of staring, Break dove into the water and started swimming toward him. Keitaro quickly decided that he had soaked his burns long enough and got his clothes back on properly.

Break clambered out of the water on all fours and rushed up to Keitaro, who tripped on a stone, landing in a seated position, with Break right in his face. The thin man spoke, almost as though he had found someone else who spoke just like he did. "Break?" he said slowly.

"Sorry, I don't know what you mean..." Keitaro replied, and Break seemed to understand, simply shaking his head and walking away.

"There you are! And here I thought I'd lost you!" the flighty (Oh god what a bad pun) man better known as Gault landed nearby, not seeing Break as he scampered away.

"Oh, Gault... You bastard! That really hurt!" Keitaro took a few friendly swings at Gault from the riverbed he laid on, but Gault just jumped out of the way.

"Yeah, well you were still asleep in an alley, and it's almost time for Church again!" Gault countered before shouting, surrounding himself with an aura of flame that looked like a blow torch had lit beneath him.

Ah crap, he's gonna roast me! Keitaro scrambled to get away from Gault.

Then, the flames discharged, their energy focusing into Gault charging forward in a grand display of-

-skipping across the river, whistling "Tiptoe Through the Tulips."

Keitaro face-faulted gloriously, except for the fact that he was, oh yeah, in a river.

…

"So apparently that spoil – sport decided to scare the hell out of you?" Gault said as he took his position on his Church's stage / podium.

"Yeah. His church was pretty... dark," Keitaro mumbled.

"You mean Church," Gault corrected.

"Huh?"

"You said church. You should be saying Church. Yes, there is a difference, and yes, I can tell. Calling the Churches, either of ours, a 'church' is like calling a pebble a five – course meal," Gault admonished with false sincerity.

Keitaro hardly had time to be completely and utterly confused before all the denizens of this city, or rather, City, were there in a crowd, seemingly hanging on Gault's words. Even Break was there, he noticed.

"Friends, you all know how much I love formalities. So how about just this once, we not bother with them? No, Terumi, not THOSE formalities, get your pants back on!" Gault announced regally, "No, let's just perform the Chant that we may got to the bloody statues already!"

The entire Church chanted, just like in Salk's Church.

"In the raging, flickering glow

Bred by the aimless inferno

The fearful gods have taken leave

Of the lives I chose to reave

I dance in the cleansing, hellish fire

That burns away through my desire

So now I prance the pain away

Into the dawning, shining day

When I destroy another life

I laugh at all the mortal strife

Cut away the worthless heart

That keeps both man and beast apart"

…

Wax and wane, Duke and Thane.

The gods decree the age.

…

Keitaro soon had lost track of how long he had been in the City, but he had learned the intricacies of it. There were the times Gault ruled, and the city was a bright and busting, seemingly utopic metropolis. However, this illusion was shattered the day Keitaro stumbled upon three men assaulting a woman in one of the back alleys. He had tried to prevent it, but Gault had appeared at his side and stopped him, simply shaking his head.

Then there were the times Salk was in control. The City was less lively, but Keitaro soon learned that there was more that met the eye. The majority of the citizens in Salk's version of the City were artists, poets and scholars, many intellectuals and creative geniuses. There was a gallery near the Cathedral (What Keitaro had taken to calling Salk's Church). In it, Keitaro bore witness to many paintings, depicting raw emotion at its finest. One in particular was a clever revision of The Holler, showing the holler-er surrounded by pretty women, still clutching his face and yelling. Keitaro felt he could relate.

That was another peculiarity he noticed. For the entire time he was in this place, he rarely thought of the girls back at the Inn. He knew he had to have been here for several months, at the lest. However, despite their evident worry, he only thought of them every couple weeks or so. The rest of his time was taken by meeting the various people in the city. Many that he met were criminals facing trial, which Keitaro was allowed to observe. These were interesting, however, as they were the only time Keitaro ever saw Gault in Salk's City, or Salk in Gault's. Each one served as the judge in the others' court.

Of course, as abnormal as everything else was, it shouldn't have surprised Keitaro in the least that their sentencing was unconventional. All trials were given a simple ruling: the white card or the black card. The black card meant that the crime was forgiven, and the accused were released with no repercussions, and the society welcomed them back as though nothing had happened in the first place. The white card meant death, however. For Gault's people, this meant being strapped to a post inside a cage with a creature called 'Beast'. Beast was a horrible monster, half lion, half man, all sociopath. It would torture the convicted criminals slowly before finally ending it. Even worse than that, though, was the number of people who stayed to watch.

Salk's citizens, however, were dealt an even more disturbing method of execution.

Suicide.

If one of Salk's people were sentenced with a white card, it was an order to commit suicide. Keitaro never understood how leaving someone to off themselves was a reliable method of execution, and when he asked Salk he simply said "Shame," and remained silent after that.

…

"Oleshehsiil!"

"Oleshehsiil!"

"Ssixi mi Oleshehsiil!"

Something else that happened frequently were Wild Men raids. They would swarm in from the forests surrounding the City, and try to get to wherever Keitaro was at the time. He had tried hiding, but somehow the Wild Men always knew where he was. Fortunately, various citizens of the City, as well as the current ruler would fend them off.

"I hiehv mer! I hiehv mer!"

That apparently wasn't going to happen today, however. One of the Wild Men stood over Keitaro, wearing a dull green shirt and tan cargo shorts, both dingy from time spent in the woods. He motioned toward himself and said, quickly, "Ciri! Wi res isssiphi fihili mi liv virih il mi fssis vixes hehv es mili! Wi zess lielh ithie i ithielsish, Oleshehsiil."

Keitaro could only stare blankly at him until the man's face showed realization. "Om hi. Yie ssih' ehvilssihv es, hi zihvil ithie'xi ssiithiv mili! Wi'ss he msi siih."

And he grabbed Keitaro's hand and led him back up the alleyway he had been hiding in, and onto a road near the forest edge, Keitaro dashing frantically to keep from being dragged.

"I believe you'll stop there," said a voice behind them.

"Freeze or burn," another voice from their far right shouted.

It was Salk and Gault, respectively. Keitaro sighed, they were looking out for me after all! Well I suppose it makes sense, seeing as I'm always their target, but they were a little late to the party...

...When did we get to the forest?

…

Gault looked around frantically. "Where did he go? Where did he go?"

Salk sat cross-legged on the ground, eyes closed, "They have taken him, and there's nothing we can do to help him now."


	20. Chapter 19

The Gemini Movement

Chapter 19: Sehshsi Rielh

Keitaro stumbled behind the Wild Man as they sprinted through one of the expanses of forest surrounding the City. He couldn't even tell when they had vanished from between Gault and Salk, but they were nowhere in sight now. All Keitaro could see was trees, dirt, and many figures flitting through the trees. However, numerous branches and twigs snapped at his face as it forced a path through the ever-thickening mesh of wood, and soon Keitaro couldn't even keep his eyes open, lest they be gouged out. The whole time, though, he could hear his kidnapper chattering excitedly in that strange language of theirs.

Goddess or Saviour, anyone please help me! Keitaro thought to himself as the trees raked at his face.

…

Several minutes passed before Keitaro felt like he could safely open his eyes, but even before he looked around, he noticed a smell in the air, light, but all-present.

Blood?

Pine?

No... rust!

Keitaro's eyes creaked open to see what could most easily be called a patchwork town, something assembled by a child who knew what a small town should look like, but not how they were really put together. He was lying on a wide platform made of rusty corrugated metal sheets, upon which were huts made from various scraps of metal, fabric, and leathers. There was what could only be meant to be a street light, but was made from plumbing tubes that snaked up some twenty feet to end in an ordinary lightbulb.

And bathed in the light of this lightbulb was a group of twenty-some Wild Men, all in their strangely modern clothing, all smiling at him strangely.

One of them stepped forward from the group. This one seemed to be in some leadership position, as he wore a cape crafted from several hoodies tied together, and on his head was a circlet made from power cords woven together. In his right hand, he held a scepter that looked like a small globe impaled with a broken broom handle.

"Oleshehsiil, e es shiiv i sii ithie msixi lielhiv! Niz zi ssih visliith mi xesssiehs zmi msixi zesiv ithie si!" the Wild King shouted for all present to hear, and Keitaro didn't like how he said it.

Crap crap that guy sounds angry! Okay, what to do what to do! Keitaro panicked as he frantically darted his eyes around for something, anything to help him.

"Em? Yie vih' ehvilssihv eph, vi ithie? Tmes ssihhi vi! Oleshehsiil, ithie res flisi ithiel sihsis mlieshm mi hish msi miith'xi phe ithie eh! Wi sili mili i misph ithie! Psisisi, Oleshehsiil, ithie msixi i misil es!" the Wild King seemed to be getting agitated, but he stopped for a moment, as though carefully considering his words, before slowly saying, "Nihu! Nehu! Naru! Naru!"

"What? How do you know about Naru! Who are you!" Keitaro shouted at the Wild Men.

"Ah, so you can finally hear us," the king said calmly back, "Welcome, Keitaro. Welcome back.

The Wild Men around them began to cheer, and Keitaro saw them again, looked at them again.

What? They look like... no they aren't. They can't be... But I see they...

The king caught Keitaro's body as it slumped to the metallic ground. "Get him to a bed. What he has just seen requires he rest now."

…

"So you have failed?"

"Yes, my God. He has been taken. By them."

"Then you know what is happening to him as we speak, Gault?"

"My God, I would guess that right now, they have him in pain that even we cannot comprehend."

"That is correct, Salk. And it it both your failure to keep him away from those monsters. Now I'm sure you know what the only choice left us is?"

"Aye, oh great God."

"We must bring him here."

"Correct. You must bring him here now, so that I may tell him what he is not ready to know, and we must all pray for the best."

…

Keitaro awoke to a horrible headache, and the feeling that he had spent the last several hours sleeping on an uneven metal surface.

Well, what do you know, I was right, Keitaro rolled himself up to his feet, staggering slightly. He steadied himself by grabbing onto a nearby object, about the size of a human, but not moving. All the same, some old warning bells set off in his brain, telling him to run, hide, or both. He looked up at what he was holing on to, and saw why.

"WAAAAAAHHHHH I'M SORRY NARU THIS ISN'T WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!"

Keitaro had crawled backwards across most of the room before he realized that it wasn't Naru Narusegawa, come to see him in this strange world he had been stranded in for what he was sure was several years, but in fact a statue of her, dressed in her favorite outfit, that yellow turtleneck and red skirt, or at least they would be, as the entire statue was made of gold. He hadn't seen her for so long, he had almost forgotten her.

"I thought you would remember her, Keitaro," a voice came from behind Keitaro, who whirled around to see who it was.

And he saw him.

As a matter of fact, he saw several of him.

Some five duplicates of him, all wearing perfectly casual clothes, just like the ones he wore before falling into this whole weird mess.

"Hehe. Confused? Wondering where those beast-men you had seen before are? We are them, or more properly, they were us, seen through your fogged mind," the foremost clone stepped forward, directing Keitaro to a chair that he hadn't seen in the corner, and proceeded to make tea for the both of them. The other duplicates had left.

Keitaro's mind threatened to black out again as he sat in the chair, but something about what the clone across the table from him had said tugged at him. They were hims the whole time? It was really absurd, he knew what he had seen, the monsters that had tried so many times to take him from the safety of the City, but for some reason it seemed to fit. Those monsters were these men. Those monsters were these hims.

"Here. Tea," the duplicate gave him a cup filled with tea.

"Thank you," Kaitaro muttered while thinking to himself, mulling over questions.

…

"Alright, explain this to me first. Why did you bring me here?" Keitaro broke the silence.

"To get you away from the Lord and King of the City," the other replied calmly.

"But why? They haven't done me any harm!"

"More than you know, and more than I can tell you. Only one being can tell you just how much hurt you really have been going through."

"One being? Just who is that, huh? I've been there for I don't know how long, and the most I've seen have been Gault, Salk, and the citizens of the City! Who's supposed to tell me how much I'm hurting then?"

The other only smiled, infuriating Keitaro, "Answer me! Tell me now! What is it I'm supposed to know?"

The other looked across the table at him, and smiled, "We are going to bring an ally of sorts here, to take you to see him."

"An ally? Who..."

The large double doors on the near wall opened up then, admitting a short, thin man into the room, who seemed to be lacking the modern, casual wear all the duplicates seemed to wear. Although, if he were a duplicate, Keitaro couldn't tell, because of the mass of scars twisting his face into a mask of agony.

"Wait, you! I remember you from Salk's Church!" Keitaro gasped in recognition of the withered man he had seen, who had accompanied him during Salk's sermon.

"I see you remember me, mostly," he rasped, "but you only remember one of me, so to speak. This sinner does have a name, you know. Look at me and see if you remember."

Keiaro looked closely at the man. His skin was slashed, pockmarked, and torn in every way imaginable, all over his body. He was obviously the product of some unimaginable violence, something like...

Wait a minute, Keitaro jumped in thought, those eyes, the arms. His nails, my god, his nails.

"Break?" Keitaro yelled, appalled.

"Right. Hard to recognize me when I'm not shouting my name and ripping living beings to shreds, isn't it?" Break smirked bitterly, "I have my reasons for being here, so don't spoil it. Once we get you to the God, I can rest, finally. We're going to him, now."

"The God?" Keitaro looked at the clone, who was still sitting contently at the table with him.

"Yes, that is who you need to go to to get the answers you seek, Keitaro, and you will go with him. Allow me to accompany you out," he said as he stood.

"About time. It's been too long. Too long," Break muttered to himself as the three made their way through the double doors.

"Oh, one more question before I go," Keitaro turned to his clone.

"God damn me, what's the holdup now?" snarled Break.

"What is is, Keitaro?" the replica asked.

"Why is there a statue of Naru in there? Why is there a statue of any of the girls from Hinata in there?"

"Hahaha, Keitaro, it's a church, is why!"


	21. Chapter 20

A/N: It's only been three months since a chapter. Apparently I'm improving! I do apologize for taking so long in getting a post up here, as I've had other things taking up my time. Among them, gathering inspiration for Salk's character and brainstorming for this one. No one has yet seemed to figure out the hidden bonus from Chapter 18: Single Theft, and the time to find it (and get first dibs on the Wild Mass Speculation) is running out. Please read and review! Reviews make authors write like coal makes a steam engine run! T_T

The Gemini Movement

Chapter 20: Single God

Keitaro had spent an absurd amount of time marching through the twisted forest with his scarred companion. As they wound around the trees and vines, they never spoke once, which seemed to suit Break just fine, and Keitaro himself was too occupied with his thoughts to make conversation.

So, Naru was there because it's a church of some sort, but I haven't seen any of the other girls anywhere, especially not the Cathedral or the Church. Now that I think of it, though... one of them could pass for Shinobu... The Lady Joy radiated the same love and purity that her shrine did. They even shard the same figure... And their faces.

Keitaro stopped dead in his tracks, his mind reeling in thought.

The Lover was Kitsune, spot-on, dressed in a robe similar to his Terrick.

And Su could obviously be the Dancer, who else would have an animated statue like that?

Motoko... the Stalwart, almost hilarious how obvious it is. Then the Mistress is... Oh. Oh god.

The Mistress, the Dark Lady, could only be one person. Strange, how often he had admired the Mistress' dark beauty, how her presence was comforting in its cold darkness. And now he knew her to be Kanako.

But then, who is the Mender? Those eyes were so sharp. Literally made from blades, as he had found out some time ago. No one had eyes like that. Motoko and Kanako could be intimidated by eyes like that. He had only seen eyes like that once. Just before arriving in this strange world.

But Su is the Dancer. How could she be the Mender, too? But no one else seemed able to fit it. Nothing else seemed 'right'.

Well, 'right' by the standards of this ludicrous world he had been dropped into.

It couldn't be this easy, could it? Just a few hours ago, he was being kidnapped by strange monster men, dragged through the nightmarish landscape of the forest, and now he was walking with Break, seemingly unraveling the mysteries of this place.

And many years ago, he was with the girls, actually enjoying his life. He could recall it now, from the now musty corners of his memory. He had really been here too long if he had forgotten them so much. The Goddesses and Saviors had taken their place. He made a vow to himself that it wouldn't happen again.

"You about done yet?" A rattling voice broke his line of thought.

"Huh?" Keitaro answered gracefully.

"Are you done racking your brain for the answers? Just as soon as yer done we can get there," Break was obviously annoyed.

"Huh?" Keitaro was truly a master of conversation.

"Listen, I know you'd like to figure everything out now, but once we're at the Church with their royal highnesses, you'll hear the same thing, but we won't have to keep walking. You'd also get to have Tweedledee and Tweedledark to explain themselves, so shut your brain-hole so we can get there already."

"...Huh?" Truly, greater words were never spoken.

This gap in Keitaro's thought seemed to last long enough for Break, however, and the trees finally cleared up.

"Finally, we're here," Break gazed calmly toward the City, which seemed to be covered in a thick fog, "Ah, so it is in transition. I wonder what it shall turn into."

"Today, our fate seems to be in his hands."

"Basically, today you're the boss!"

Gault and Salk had joined them at some point, Keitaro was unsure when.

Salk spoke, "In short, right now you can mold the City to whatever form you feel comfortable with."

Any form? Maybe something old. Familiar. Hinata...

…

Watching an expansive and antiquated town morphing into the only slightly dated contours of his former hometown was curious, to say the least. It was akin to watching a documentary about a conspicuously European medieval village advancing rapidly through the centuries into a Japanese suburb. The whole idea was ludicrously inaccurate, however. Hinata was basically founded by Granny Hina's grandmother, who raised her son (Granny Hina's father, Keisuke), in the Hinata Inn during its heyday. The town formed around it.

But that didn't stop the transformation from stone turrets to concrete walling from being any less interesting. The great and looming castle fell to ruins, collapsed, and faded into the landscape all in the space of a minute. Numerous fires broke out, and at one point seemed to form a riot, burning a large portion of the rapidly evolving settlement to ashes, which soon enough molded into tarmac roads. Eventually, Keitaro's eyes were drawn to the building he was most anxious to see.

The scattered stones of the castle, now a large hill, came to life and began to arrange themselves into the long, lazy staircase he knew and loved. The earth seemingly pushed itself up to give the stairs a place to rest on, higher and higher, until at the end of the gloriously white path, as though it were there all along, was his Hinata-sou.

Keitaro was running well before he knew it, Gault, Salk, and Break trying desparately to catch up with him, but he didn't care. There was his home, just as he'd left it! He'd been gone for so long, he had to go see the girls, tell him he was all right. He vaulted up the first ten stairs, not caring that he could have misstep, and started jumping up then three at a time.

"Keitaro, come back!"

"Stop!"

He may have heard them, but nothing they could say could have stopped him.

…

Naru happened to look out the window at that moment, and saw a figure on its way up the steps.

"No. No no. No way," Naru whispered to herself when she recognized who it was. She ran out to greet him.

…

Keitaro cleared the last steps, too exited to tell if he was out of breath or not. The door opened.

…

Naru's fist made contact with chin.

…

Keitaro's jaw dropped.

…

"SO NOT THE TIME KENTARO!" She shouted, tears streaming from her eyes.

…

It was empty. The Inn was totally bare like he had never seen it. Keitaro walked further in, taking his hand from where it still rested on the door frame, but stopped after a few steps. He was numb. He had been so sure they would be there. He heard footsteps behind him, but right now he didn't care.

"Keitaro, this is what we were trying to. This isn't real, none of this is real. That's why we're taking you to where you can learn the truth," Keitaro was dimly aware of Break's voice, and even less aware of what he was saying, but he nodded anyway. Anything to make them leave him be.

No such luck. Gault and Salk had looped his arms over their shoulders and stared to carry him upstairs, following Break. They turned right, and Keitaro noticed that they were headed for his room. Not that he knew why, there wasn't likely to be a bed there.

Well, I'm just wrong all over the place today, aren't I? Keitaro thought derisively to himself. As it happened, 'his' room was both familiar and different from how he remembered it. The structure seemed mostly the same, and in fact most things were quite similar, but also seemed to shift as he focused on them, becoming larger or smaller by random chance. Keitaro's head lolled to the side so he could see his study table, and saw what was definitely the biggest change.

His old, sometimes-kotatsu, table has become a ridiculously huge knights-of-the-round-table style slab of wood that should have dominated the room, but only seemed to take up as much room as his old junker table. The surface was elaborately engraved, though he couldn't make out exactly what was depicted. Scattered across it were books, writing instruments, plates, nearly everything he could think that had once had a home on that table was there. Seated at the head of the formidably unrealistic plateau was.. his great-grandfather?

No, no, but you wouldn't fault him for thinking it. Keisuke had rounder features and a more pointed nose thank Keitaro. This person now staring down Kaitaro looked like himself, but with shock-white hair, and carrying himself like a well-aged man.

The elder Keitaro looked at Gault and Salk, who were bowing to him. "Come now, by me. I have to fix this mess."

"Yes, my god," the two chorused and rushed to flank him, Salk on his left side.

"And you," Old-Keitaro softly said to Break, "You've been waiting far too long for your rest, haven't you?"

Break spoke oddly, compared to anything Keitaro had heard before. Was it... respect? "Yes, sir, but I intend to see this through the end. I want to make sure this won't happen again."

"As it will not. You do have a part to play," the apparent god replied. "And you, me. We have to get you sorted out as well."

It took Keitaro a moment to notice that he was being addressed. "I'm sorry what? Who needs sorting out?

His elder copy smiled, "You, me, us. You are me. Or, more accurately, I am you."


End file.
